APA (NASDAQ:APA) Shares Gap Up After Analyst Upgrade

APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) gapped up before the market opened on Monday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $30.00 to $34.00. The stock had previously closed at $30.37, but opened at $32.52. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. APA shares last traded at $31.4080, with a volume of 2,499,429 shares.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on APA. Zacks Research upgraded shares of APA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of APA in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on APA from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on APA from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Johnson Rice raised APA from a “hold” rating to an “accumulate” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $35.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.00.

More APA News

Here are the key news stories impacting APA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: APA beat Q4 EPS estimates (reported $0.91 vs. consensus $0.62); management cited stronger output and lower costs that offset weak oil & gas prices — this earnings surprise is the primary bullish catalyst. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Susquehanna raised its price target to $37 (from $32) and maintained a positive rating — a materially higher target that supports upside expectations. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets lifted its target to $35 (from $30) while keeping a market-perform rating, which still signals modest upside from current levels. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: UBS raised its price target to $34 (from $30) and kept a neutral rating — another upward revision that adds analyst support for the name. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data in the feed is inconsistent (reports show 0 shares and NaN changes); this looks like a reporting glitch and is unlikely to explain the stock move. Investors should treat these short-interest figures as unreliable until clarified.
• Negative Sentiment: A separate analyst note listed a $29 price target (raised in that report) which is below current trading levels and would be a less bullish signal if adopted more widely. Article Title

Institutional Trading of APA

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of APA. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 891 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC raised its stake in shares of APA by 115.1% during the 4th quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 710 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new stake in shares of APA in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Spire Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of APA by 179.6% in the third quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 977 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Camelot Portfolios LLC bought a new position in shares of APA in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $26.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.98, a P/E/G ratio of 15.40 and a beta of 0.67.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.29. APA had a net margin of 15.55% and a return on equity of 19.89%. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 26.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that APA Corporation will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.06%.

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.