APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) Shares Bought by Federated Hermes Inc.

Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 1,042.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 135,496 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 123,633 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in APA were worth $3,989,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sunpointe LLC raised its position in APA by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sunpointe LLC now owns 13,297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $391,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of APA by 12.0% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,558 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,000 after buying an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR boosted its stake in shares of APA by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 49,475 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,775,000 after buying an additional 436 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of APA by 18.1% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,865 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,000 after buying an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Triton Wealth Management PLLC increased its position in APA by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Triton Wealth Management PLLC now owns 28,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $922,000 after acquiring an additional 449 shares during the period. 83.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Susquehanna dropped their target price on APA from $57.00 to $52.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of APA in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $42.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of APA from $34.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of APA from $35.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of APA from $50.00 to $49.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, APA has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $36.38.

APA Price Performance

APA stock opened at $25.11 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $28.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.19. APA Co. has a 52 week low of $22.72 and a 52 week high of $43.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.32 billion, a PE ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 3.24.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.22. APA had a net margin of 32.66% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The business had revenue of $2.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.85 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 41.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that APA Co. will post 4.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 22nd will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.98%. APA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.19%.

APA Company Profile

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.