Merit Financial Group LLC Has $1.22 Million Position in APA Corporation $APA

Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) by 101.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 37,478 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,885 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in APA were worth $1,221,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd increased its stake in shares of APA by 36.7% during the 1st quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 1,229 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of APA by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 106,667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,609,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of APA by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 28,171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $689,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in shares of APA by 37.9% in the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 1,489 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC boosted its holdings in APA by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 14,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $358,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares in the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Capital One Financial raised their target price on APA from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on APA from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on APA from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Stephens increased their price objective on APA from $43.00 to $47.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on APA from $26.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, APA has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.30.

APA Stock Performance

NASDAQ:APA opened at $39.97 on Thursday. APA Corporation has a 1 year low of $19.96 and a 1 year high of $45.66. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.00 billion, a PE ratio of 8.45 and a beta of 0.35.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.90 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. APA had a return on equity of 24.84% and a net margin of 19.48%.During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.87 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that APA Corporation will post 5.16 EPS for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 22nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. APA’s payout ratio is presently 21.14%.

Insider Activity at APA

In other news, VP Mark D. Maddox sold 9,800 shares of APA stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.04, for a total value of $392,392.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 66,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,675,072.40. The trade was a 12.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

APA Company Profile

APA Corporation (NASDAQ: APA) is an independent exploration and production company engaged in the acquisition, development and production of oil and natural gas resources. The company operates through three core regions: the United States, Egypt and the North Sea. Through its integrated approach, APA combines geological and geophysical expertise with technical innovation to identify and develop hydrocarbons in both onshore and offshore settings.

In the United States, APA’s largest position is in the Permian Basin of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, where it holds substantial acreage dedicated to oil-focused drilling and production.