Ariel Investments, an investment management company, released its “Ariel Focus Fund” second-quarter 2023 investor letter. A copy of the same can be downloaded here. In the second quarter, the fund increased +1.97%, compared to a +4.07% and +8.74% return for the Russell 1000 Value Index and the S&P 500 Index, respectively. Global markets continued to rise in the second quarter however, the US economy continues to show signs of cooling. Despite uncertainty and volatility expected to remain high, the firm views these near-term concerns as noise from the perspective of its long-term investment horizon. In addition, you can check the top 5 holdings of the fund to know its best picks in 2023.
Ariel Focus Fund highlighted stocks like APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) in the second quarter 2023 investor letter. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) engages in oil and natural exploration, development, and production. On September 8, 2023, APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) stock closed at $44.26 per share. One-month return of APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) was -0.90%, and its shares gained 10.65% of their value over the last 52 weeks. APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) has a market capitalization of $13.633 billion.
Ariel Focus Fund made the following comment about APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) in its Q2 2023 investor letter:
“Finally, oil and natural gas explorer, APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA), traded lower alongside persistent volatility across commodity markets over the quarter, as well as reports the company is suspending drilling in the North Sea due to burdensome tax regulations. We view this price action to run counter to the company’s solid business fundamentals. APA continues to deliver strong earnings results highlighted by solid production volumes as well as tighter expense controls. Management remains focused on higher-margin oil developments, driving safety and operational improvements, and prioritizing a reduction in carbon intensity. Meanwhile, APA is committed to returning 60% of free cash flow to shareholders through dividends and repurchases. At current valuation levels, APA is trading at an attractive 41% discount to our estimate of private market value.”
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APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 31 hedge fund portfolios held APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) at the end of second quarter which was 36 in the previous quarter.
We discussed APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) in another article and shared the list of undervalued S&P 500 stocks billionaires are loading up on. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q2 2023 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
