Range Financial Group LLC Lowers Holdings in APA Corporation $APA

Range Financial Group LLC decreased its holdings in shares of APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) by 86.2% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 12,680 shares of the company’s stock after selling 79,500 shares during the quarter. Range Financial Group LLC’s holdings in APA were worth $538,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in APA by 57.5% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 306,195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,765,000 after buying an additional 111,777 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in APA by 71.0% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 185,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,437,000 after buying an additional 77,125 shares during the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in APA by 49.5% during the third quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 1,578,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,331,000 after buying an additional 522,673 shares during the period. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in APA during the fourth quarter worth about $938,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of APA by 59.4% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 112,895 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,761,000 after acquiring an additional 42,068 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Trading Down 5.0%

Shares of APA stock opened at $33.29 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.76 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $36.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.16. APA Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $17.86 and a fifty-two week high of $45.66.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.27. APA had a net margin of 17.38% and a return on equity of 20.70%. The company had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.06 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that APA Corporation will post 5.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. APA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on APA shares. Evercore boosted their price target on shares of APA from $25.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Stephens boosted their target price on APA from $43.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on APA from $44.00 to $41.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Roth Capital upgraded APA from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $37.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on APA from $21.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.88.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Mark D. Maddox sold 9,800 shares of APA stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.04, for a total value of $392,392.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 66,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,675,072.40. This trade represents a 12.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

APA Profile

APA Corporation (NASDAQ: APA) is an independent exploration and production company engaged in the acquisition, development and production of oil and natural gas resources. The company operates through three core regions: the United States, Egypt and the North Sea. Through its integrated approach, APA combines geological and geophysical expertise with technical innovation to identify and develop hydrocarbons in both onshore and offshore settings.

In the United States, APA’s largest position is in the Permian Basin of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, where it holds substantial acreage dedicated to oil-focused drilling and production.