APA’s (APA) “Outperform” Rating Reiterated at Raymond James

Raymond James reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of APA (NASDAQ:APA) in a research report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $25.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $23.00.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of APA from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of APA from $25.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Argus upgraded shares of APA to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of APA from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of APA from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, APA presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.21.

APA Price Performance

Shares of APA stock opened at $17.15 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.20 billion, a PE ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.18. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. APA has a twelve month low of $13.58 and a twelve month high of $33.41.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.17 billion. APA had a net margin of 24.36% and a return on equity of 27.86%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 35.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that APA will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 22nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.83%. APA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.97%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APA

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in APA. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its position in shares of APA by 1,087.9% in the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,077 shares in the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co increased its position in shares of APA by 5,718.2% in the fourth quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 1,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,258 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of APA by 2,709.8% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,433 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,382 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its position in shares of APA by 77.9% in the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 1,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of APA by 499.2% in the first quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 1,546 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,288 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

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.