APA Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:APA)

APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders acquired 22,494 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 92% compared to the average daily volume of 11,718 call options.

APA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ APA opened at $24.36 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $24.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.23. APA has a 52 week low of $13.58 and a 52 week high of $27.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.57 and a beta of 0.75.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. APA had a net margin of 15.49% and a return on equity of 19.86%. The company’s revenue was down 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.00 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that APA will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 22nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 22nd. APA’s payout ratio is presently 24.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Johnson Rice upgraded shares of APA from a “hold” rating to an “accumulate” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $35.00 to $40.00 in a report on Thursday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on APA from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Roth Capital lifted their price objective on shares of APA from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Capital One Financial upped their target price on shares of APA from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of APA from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, APA has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.73.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On APA

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its holdings in APA by 276.7% in the third quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 891 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of APA by 144.9% in the second quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,104 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of APA by 6,096.7% in the 2nd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,859 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,829 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new position in shares of APA during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of APA by 179.6% during the 3rd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 977 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

About APA

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.