Federated Hermes Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA)

Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in shares of APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) by 485.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,394 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,814 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in APA were worth $71,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in APA by 33.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,186,244 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,823,000 after buying an additional 1,540,055 shares in the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in APA during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,767,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in APA by 29.1% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,297,871 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,328,000 after buying an additional 1,195,212 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC acquired a new position in APA during the 4th quarter valued at about $19,796,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in APA during the 4th quarter valued at about $14,524,000. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on APA. Stephens began coverage on APA in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Susquehanna cut their price objective on APA from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on APA from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 14th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on APA from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on APA from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.59.

APA Stock Up 2.8%

Shares of APA opened at $20.01 on Monday. APA Corporation has a 52 week low of $13.58 and a 52 week high of $29.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a market capitalization of $7.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.69, a PEG ratio of 6.54 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $19.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.04.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. APA had a return on equity of 20.98% and a net margin of 10.53%. The company’s revenue was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.17 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that APA Corporation will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. APA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.44%.

About APA

APA Corporation, an independent energy company, explores for, develops, and produces natural gas, crude oil, and natural gas liquids. It has oil and gas operations in the United States, Egypt, and North Sea. The company also has exploration and appraisal activities in Suriname, as well as holds interests in projects located in Uruguay and internationally.