Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Grows Stock Position in APA Corporation $APA

Key Points

• Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its APA stake by 85.2% in the fourth quarter, buying 37,180 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 80,815 shares worth about $1.98 million.
• APA reported better-than-expected first-quarter results, with EPS of $1.38 versus the $1.11 estimate and revenue of $2.33 billion versus $2.13 billion expected, even though revenue fell 11.7% year over year.
• The stock was trading down 3.4% at $37.50, while analysts maintain a consensus Hold rating with an average price target of $40.81; APA also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share.

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in shares of APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) by 85.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 80,815 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 37,180 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans' holdings in APA were worth $1,976,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of APA. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new position in shares of APA in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Camelot Portfolios LLC acquired a new position in APA during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Community Bank N.A. acquired a new position in APA during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. LRI Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of APA by 4,697.7% in the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 2,063 shares of the company's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 2,020 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of APA in the third quarter worth $57,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on APA shares. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of APA from $37.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Evercore raised their target price on APA from $25.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on APA from $27.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on APA from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on APA from $26.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, APA presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $40.81.

APA Trading Down 3.4%

Shares of APA stock opened at $37.50 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $13.25 billion, a PE ratio of 8.74 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $39.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.90. APA Corporation has a 1 year low of $16.75 and a 1 year high of $45.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 17.38% and a return on equity of 20.70%. The firm's revenue was down 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.06 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that APA Corporation will post 5.06 earnings per share for the current year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 22nd. APA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.31%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Mark D. Maddox sold 9,800 shares of APA stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.04, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Matthew Regis Bob sold 23,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.23, for a total value of $833,290.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $240,349.82. This represents a 77.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.73% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About APA

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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