M Holdings Securities Inc. Sells 27,802 Shares of APA Corporation $APA

M Holdings Securities Inc. cut its stake in APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) by 81.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,419 shares of the company’s stock after selling 27,802 shares during the quarter. M Holdings Securities Inc.’s holdings in APA were worth $267,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of APA by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 2,456 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of APA by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 3,206 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd grew its position in shares of APA by 36.7% during the 1st quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 1,229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the period. Waverly Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of APA by 4.3% in the second quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 9,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $321,000 after buying an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in APA by 37.9% during the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 1,489 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Stock Performance

Shares of APA stock opened at $47.66 on Friday. APA Corporation has a 52 week low of $23.06 and a 52 week high of $52.96. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $46.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.48. The firm has a market cap of $16.00 billion, a PE ratio of 7.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.48 billion. APA had a net margin of 23.08% and a return on equity of 28.34%. APA’s revenue was up 30.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.93 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that APA Corporation will post 6.72 earnings per share for the current year.

APA announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, September 16th that permits the company to buy back 40,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

APA Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, October 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of APA in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $44.00 price target for the company. UBS Group boosted their price target on APA from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 12th. KeyCorp set a $46.00 target price on shares of APA in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $41.00 price objective on shares of APA in a research note on Sunday, October 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of APA from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, APA currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.17.

APA Profile

APA Corporation is an independent energy company that explores for, develops and produces crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its activities include operating wells and related infrastructure, as well as evaluating and developing oil and natural gas resources. The company’s principal operating areas include the United States and Egypt. APA also has offshore exploration interests in Suriname, where it has worked with partners to assess resources in the region. APA traces its history to Apache Corporation, founded in 1954.