Ariel Investments, an investment management company, released its “Ariel Focus Fund” fourth-quarter 2023 investor letter. A copy of the same can be downloaded here. In the fourth quarter, the fund increased +11.05% compared to +9.50% and +11.69% returns for the Russell 1000 Value Index and the S&P 500 Index, respectively. The fund increased by +6.97 over the trailing one-year underperforming both indexes’ +11.46% and +26.29% returns. In addition, you can check the top 5 holdings of the fund to know its best picks in 2023.
Ariel Focus Fund featured stocks like APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) in the fourth quarter 2023 investor letter. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) engages in oil and natural exploration, development, and production. On March 14, 2024, APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) stock closed at $32.47 per share. One-month return of APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) was 2.85%, and its shares gained 2.30% of their value over the last 52 weeks. APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) has a market capitalization of $9.791 billion.
Ariel Focus Fund stated the following regarding APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) in its fourth quarter 2023 investor letter:
“There were a few notable performance detractors in the quarter. Oil and natural gas explorer, APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA), declined despite delivering healthy earnings results, the operational momentum was overshadowed by a softer than expected 2024 outlook for oil production. Investors were also disappointed with the flat capital expenditure guide for 2024, as management decided to reallocate savings from the North Sea to the Permian Basin. Meanwhile, APA continues to express confidence in the Suriname development and is working with TotalEnergies to complete a plan for the oil hub. Looking ahead, APA is focused on higher-margin oil developments, driving safety and operational improvements, and prioritizing a reduction in carbon intensity. At current valuation levels, APA is trading at a discount to our private market value estimate.”
Workers in hard hats and safety gear processing oil and gas in a US refinery.
APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. At the end of the fourth quarter, APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) was held by 35 hedge fund portfolios, compared to 34 in the previous quarter, according to our database.
We discussed APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) in another article and shared Ariel Focus Fund’s views on the company in the previous quarter. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q4 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.
