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

APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirty-one research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $43.14.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of APA from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 21st. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of APA from $41.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Benchmark increased their price target on shares of APA from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and issued a $43.00 price objective on shares of APA in a report on Monday, September 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on APA from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On APA

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of APA by 14.6% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 42,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,369,000 after buying an additional 5,344 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of APA by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 363,038 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,824,000 after buying an additional 28,474 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of APA by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,181,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $820,159,000 after acquiring an additional 377,429 shares in the last quarter. Core Capital Management & Research inc. bought a new position in shares of APA in the 2nd quarter worth about $5,800,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of APA by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 258,288 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,412,000 after acquiring an additional 8,181 shares in the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

APA Price Performance

Shares of APA stock opened at $43.34 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market cap of $15.18 billion, a PE ratio of 9.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.42. The business has a 50 day moving average of $41.56 and a 200 day moving average of $38.72. APA has a 52 week low of $21.63 and a 52 week high of $47.44.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.90 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. APA had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 24.84%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.87 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that APA will post 5.8 earnings per share for the current year.

APA declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, September 16th that permits the company to repurchase 40,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

APA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 22nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.14%.

About APA

APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The company’s activities include identifying prospective resources, drilling and completing wells, and managing producing assets across multiple international markets.

APA’s operations have historically been concentrated in the Permian Basin of the United States and in Egypt’s Western Desert, where it participates in exploration and production activities through joint ventures.