Hershey Financial Advisers LLC Acquires Shares of 42,287 APA Corporation $APA

Key Points

• Hershey Financial Advisers LLC opened a new position in APA Corporation, buying 42,287 shares worth about $1.8 million in the first quarter.
• APA reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, with EPS of $1.38 versus the $1.11 estimate and revenue of $2.33 billion, though revenue was still down 11.7% from a year earlier.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, implying a 2.8% annualized yield, while analysts currently have a consensus Hold rating with an average price target of $40.42.

Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 42,287 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,795,000. APA comprises approximately 1.6% of Hershey Financial Advisers LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of APA. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of APA by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 106,667 shares of the company's stock worth $2,609,000 after buying an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in APA by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 28,171 shares of the company's stock valued at $689,000 after buying an additional 396 shares in the last quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC boosted its stake in APA by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 14,648 shares of the company's stock valued at $358,000 after buying an additional 461 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its stake in APA by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 130,869 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,201,000 after buying an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. Finally, O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. grew its position in APA by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. now owns 30,093 shares of the company's stock valued at $736,000 after acquiring an additional 555 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company's stock.

APA Price Performance

APA stock opened at $35.22 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $35.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.52. APA Corporation has a 12 month low of $17.86 and a 12 month high of $45.66. The company has a market capitalization of $12.45 billion, a PE ratio of 8.21 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.27. APA had a return on equity of 20.70% and a net margin of 17.38%.The company had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.06 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that APA Corporation will post 5 EPS for the current year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. APA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other APA news, VP Mark D. Maddox sold 9,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.04, for a total transaction of $392,392.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 66,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,675,072.40. The trade was a 12.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.73% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

APA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of APA from $26.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Evercore raised 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. Zacks Research lowered shares of APA from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of APA from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of APA from $21.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $40.42.

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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