APA Corporation $APA Shares Sold by Berger Financial Group Inc

Berger Financial Group Inc trimmed its stake in APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) by 97.3% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 6,813 shares of the company’s stock after selling 245,753 shares during the period. Berger Financial Group Inc’s holdings in APA were worth $289,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in APA. Summit Securities Group LLC raised its position in APA by 115.1% in the fourth quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 710 shares during the period. Camelot Portfolios LLC purchased a new position in shares of APA during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Community Bank N.A. acquired a new stake in shares of APA in the third quarter valued at $43,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of APA in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of APA in the 3rd quarter valued at $57,000. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

APA Stock Up 0.3%

APA stock opened at $32.46 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $36.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. APA Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $17.86 and a fifty-two week high of $45.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.57 and a beta of 0.35.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.06 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that APA Corporation will post 5.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 22nd. APA’s payout ratio is 23.31%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Mark D. Maddox sold 9,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 66,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,675,072.40. The trade was a 12.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on APA. UBS Group raised their target price on APA from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Roth Mkm raised shares of APA from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $37.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of APA from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of APA from $38.00 to $41.00 in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of APA from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, APA currently has an average 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.