APA (NASDAQ:APA) Reaches New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Stephens raised their price target on the stock from $23.00 to $24.00. Stephens currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. APA traded as high as $28.66 and last traded at $28.4780, with a volume of 3290906 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $27.34.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on APA. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of APA from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Zacks Research cut shares of APA from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. 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. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of APA in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Capital One Financial dropped their target price on APA from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $26.39.

Institutional Trading of APA

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Compound Planning Inc. increased its position in APA by 45.5% during the 4th quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 15,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $371,000 after purchasing an additional 4,744 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of APA by 212.2% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 416,796 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,195,000 after purchasing an additional 283,299 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its stake in shares of APA by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 102,471 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,506,000 after purchasing an additional 12,211 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC increased its holdings in APA by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 144,112 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,525,000 after buying an additional 15,657 shares during the period. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in APA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $632,000. 83.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

APA Stock Up 1.6%

The business’s 50 day moving average is $25.76 and its 200 day moving average is $24.11. 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 company has a market cap of $10.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.99, a P/E/G ratio of 13.08 and a beta of 0.74.

APA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.04%.

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.