New assets improve their outlook

Article Excerpt

These three resources producers are making acquisitions and investing in big new projects. These moves help bolster their reserves and set them up for more growth in the next few years. For now, however, we prefer mining firms Alcoa and BHP over oil producer APA for your new buying. APA CORP. $25 is a hold. The company (Nasdaq symbol APA; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 369.9 million; Market cap: $9.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.9; Dividend yield: 4.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.apacorp.com) produces oil and natural gas in the U.S. (75% of production), Egypt (16%) and the U.K. (9%). In April 2024, APA acquired Callon Petroleum Company (New York symbol CPE) in an all-stock merger worth $4.5 billion. Callon produces oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids at properties in the Permian and Eagle Ford regions of Texas. At the time of the deal, Callon shareholders owned 19% of the combined firm, with APA investors holding 81%. As a result of that purchase, APA’s average…