Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of APA Put Options (NASDAQ:APA)

APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors acquired 40,732 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 247% compared to the average daily volume of 11,724 put options.

APA Stock Up 1.5%

APA opened at $27.10 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.51, a P/E/G ratio of 7.26 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $23.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.54. APA has a fifty-two week low of $13.58 and a fifty-two week high of $27.72.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.19. APA had a net margin of 15.49% and a return on equity of 19.86%. The company had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.00 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that APA will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 22nd were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.04%.

Institutional Trading of APA

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of APA by 46.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,080,787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $190,876,000 after acquiring an additional 2,894,543 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,869,891 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in APA during the 1st quarter valued at about $22,533,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in APA by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,932,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $292,871,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046,893 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its position in APA by 2.9% in the first quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 36,439,749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $765,964,000 after buying an additional 1,029,961 shares in the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on APA shares. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of APA from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on APA from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. UBS Group raised their target price on APA from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of APA in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on APA from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.55.

About APA

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.