APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the thirty research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eighteen have issued a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $40.8462.

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research boosted their price objective on APA from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on APA from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on APA from $45.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Citigroup boosted their price target on APA from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on APA from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Mark D. Maddox sold 9,800 shares of APA stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.04, for a total value of $392,392.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 66,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,675,072.40. The trade was a 12.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APA

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of APA by 1,726.2% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,834,502 shares of the company’s stock valued at $205,176,000 after purchasing an additional 4,569,779 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in APA by 76.9% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 7,171,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $175,426,000 after purchasing an additional 3,117,032 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in APA by 157.1% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,060,135 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,970,000 after buying an additional 1,869,891 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in APA by 21.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,425,586 shares of the company’s stock worth $255,010,000 after buying an additional 1,864,900 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in APA by 55.0% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,154,301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $176,309,000 after buying an additional 1,473,626 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Stock Up 0.5%

APA stock traded up $0.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $33.44. 3,236,575 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,534,070. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.16. The company has a market capitalization of $11.82 billion, a PE ratio of 7.79 and a beta of 0.35. APA has a twelve month low of $17.86 and a twelve month high of $45.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.06 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that APA will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio is 23.31%.

APA Company 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.