APA Corporation $APA Shares Sold by Range Financial Group LLC

Key Points

• Range Financial Group LLC cut its APA stake sharply in the first quarter, selling 79,500 shares and reducing its holdings by 86.2% to 12,680 shares worth about $538,000.
• APA reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.38 versus estimates of $1.11 and revenue of $2.33 billion versus $2.13 billion expected, though revenue still fell 11.7% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, implying a 3.0% annualized yield, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus “Hold” with a price target of $40.88.

Range Financial Group LLC lessened its stake in APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) by 86.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor 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 reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of APA by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,321,936 shares of the company's stock worth $374,786,000 after purchasing an additional 1,291,706 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in APA by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,710,034 shares of the company's stock valued at $359,807,000 after buying an additional 285,542 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in APA by 21.8% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,425,586 shares of the company's stock worth $255,010,000 after buying an additional 1,864,900 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in APA by 76.9% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 7,171,963 shares of the company's stock worth $175,426,000 after buying an additional 3,117,032 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in APA by 29.6% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,462,476 shares of the company's stock worth $108,349,000 after buying an additional 1,018,326 shares in the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at APA

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

APA Price Performance

NASDAQ:APA opened at $33.29 on Friday. APA Corporation has a one year low of $17.86 and a one year high of $45.66. 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 cap of $11.76 billion, a PE ratio of 7.76 and a beta of 0.35. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $36.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.16.

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

APA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. APA's payout ratio is presently 23.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on APA from $21.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Mizuho increased their price objective on APA from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on APA from $37.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of APA from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of APA from $26.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, APA currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $40.88.

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.

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