APA (NASDAQ:APA) Trading Down 3.9% After Analyst Downgrade

APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) dropped 3.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on the stock from $23.00 to $21.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an underweight rating on the stock. APA traded as low as $25.42 and last traded at $25.4920. Approximately 1,462,146 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 5,482,449 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.54.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays set a $24.00 price objective on APA in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on APA from $21.00 to $16.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on APA from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Scotiabank upped their price target on APA from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on APA from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.30.

More APA News

Here are the key news stories impacting APA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised several near-term EPS forecasts for APA (Q1–Q4 2027 and FY2027 estimates were nudged higher), which can be read as modestly constructive on forward earnings expectations. (Zacks research notes)
• Positive Sentiment: The Goldman Sachs price target was increased to $23 from $21 (rating: sell), a small upward reframe of fair value that could limit downside. Goldman Sachs raises PT to $23
• Positive Sentiment: AmericanBankingNews reported an analyst-implied price-target increase to $22, another incremental supportive datapoint. Price Target Raised to $22
• Neutral Sentiment: Local community event — APA’s “Paws & Pins” fundraiser scheduled for Feb. 20 — is PR/CSR positive but unlikely to move the stock materially. Paws & Pins fundraiser
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary piece outlines how fresh analyst targets are reframing APA’s fair value; useful context for investors but not a direct market mover. Why APA story is shifting
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan cut its price target to $25 (maintained neutral), and that move was reported alongside an intraday share drop — a clear near-term headwind for the stock. JPMorgan lowers PT to $25
• Negative Sentiment: Barclays downgraded APA to an Underweight/“downgrade,” which increases sell-side pressure and may keep the stock capped until clearer operational/commodity signals emerge. Barclays downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks moved the stock from Hold to Strong Sell even while nudging some short-term EPS estimates; the retained negative rating undercuts the constructive EPS revisions. Zacks rating change

Institutional Trading of APA

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in APA by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 94,848 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,303,000 after buying an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. one8zero8 LLC raised its stake in shares of APA by 1.2% in the third quarter. one8zero8 LLC now owns 42,254 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,026,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of APA by 0.5% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 106,734 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,592,000 after acquiring an additional 517 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of APA by 19.6% during the second quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,349 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. grew its stake in shares of APA by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. now owns 30,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $736,000 after purchasing an additional 555 shares during the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

APA Trading Up 1.0%

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 firm has a market cap of $9.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.40 and a beta of 0.74. The business’s fifty day moving average is $25.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.09.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. APA had a return on equity of 19.86% and a net margin of 15.49%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.00 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that APA Corporation 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. Investors of record on Thursday, January 22nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.