Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Has $1.47 Million Stake in APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank cut its holdings in shares of APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) by 63.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 70,134 shares of the company’s stock after selling 120,058 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in APA were worth $1,474,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in APA. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of APA by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 13,230,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $305,498,000 after purchasing an additional 850,052 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of APA by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,507,956 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,016,000 after buying an additional 200,770 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of APA by 33.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,186,244 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,823,000 after buying an additional 1,540,055 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of APA by 29.1% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,297,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $122,328,000 after acquiring an additional 1,195,212 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of APA by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,025,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,947,000 after acquiring an additional 269,865 shares during the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on APA shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on APA from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Argus upgraded shares of APA to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of APA from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $22.00 target price (up previously from $14.00) on shares of APA in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of APA from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.50.

APA Price Performance

APA stock opened at $18.46 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $6.68 billion, a PE ratio of 6.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.03 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $18.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.21. APA Corporation has a one year low of $13.58 and a one year high of $30.74.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.17 billion. APA had a return on equity of 23.22% and a net margin of 9.75%. APA’s quarterly revenue was up 35.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.78 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that APA Corporation will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 22nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.97%.

APA Profile

APA Corporation, an independent energy company, explores for, develops, and produces natural gas, crude oil, and natural gas liquids. It has oil and gas operations in the United States, Egypt, and North Sea. The company also has exploration and appraisal activities in Suriname, as well as holds interests in projects located in Uruguay and internationally.