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

APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the twenty-five analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $26.5909.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on APA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of APA from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on APA from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of APA from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $31.00 price target on shares of APA in a report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of APA from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APA

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APA. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of APA by 157.1% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,060,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,970,000 after buying an additional 1,869,891 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in APA by 13.6% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,030,230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $340,657,000 after acquiring an additional 1,674,739 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in APA by 29.6% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,462,476 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,349,000 after acquiring an additional 1,018,326 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of APA by 7,627.3% during the third quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 1,013,516 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,608,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of APA by 160.5% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 336,277 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,165,000 after purchasing an additional 892,438 shares during the period. 83.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

APA Stock Performance

NASDAQ:APA opened at $25.78 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.14 billion, a PE ratio of 6.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.62 and a beta of 0.74. APA has a 12 month low of $13.58 and a 12 month high of $27.72. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $24.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

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

APA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio is 24.04%.

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.