APA (NASDAQ:APA) Upgraded at Scotiabank

Scotiabank upgraded shares of APA (NASDAQ:APA) to a hold rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning,Zacks reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $41.00 price objective on shares of APA in a research note on Sunday, October 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of APA from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Zacks Research raised shares of APA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Roth Capital set a $39.00 price target on shares of APA in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on shares of APA in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.38.

APA Stock Performance

Shares of APA traded up $1.92 on Wednesday, reaching $49.15. 6,325,180 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,669,751. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $43.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market cap of $17.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.42. APA has a 12 month low of $21.63 and a 12 month high of $49.26.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its 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). APA had a return on equity of 24.84% and a net margin of 19.48%. The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.87 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that APA will post 6.00 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.14%.

APA declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, September 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase 40,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Share buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On APA

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of APA in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,173,231,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in APA by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,181,423 shares of the company’s stock valued at $820,159,000 after purchasing an additional 377,429 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in APA by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 16,376,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $695,099,000 after purchasing an additional 1,055,016 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in APA by 1,726.2% during the 1st 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. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Company Profile

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.