APA (NASDAQ:APA) Shares Up 7.7% on Analyst Upgrade

APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) was up 7.7% during trading on Monday after Truist Financial raised their price target on the stock from $38.00 to $39.00. Truist Financial currently has a hold rating on the stock. APA traded as high as $40.51 and last traded at $40.5320. 2,151,594 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 7,006,245 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.63.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on APA. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on APA from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of APA from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of APA from $38.00 to $41.00 in a report on Friday, May 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of APA from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of APA from $44.00 to $41.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 26th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, APA currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.42.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Mark D. Maddox sold 9,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was 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 directly owned 66,810 shares in the company, valued at $2,675,072.40. The trade was a 12.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APA

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hollencrest Capital Management grew its position in APA by 520.8% in the 1st quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 596 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of APA during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Summit Securities Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 710 shares during the period. MidFirst Bank bought a new stake in shares of APA in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Gables Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in APA during the second quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Trading Up 9.1%

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 firm has a market capitalization of $14.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.67 and a beta of 0.35. The business has a 50-day moving average of $35.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $34.75.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.90 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. APA had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 24.84%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.87 EPS. Research analysts predict that APA Corporation will post 4.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 22nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. APA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.14%.

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.