APA (NASDAQ:APA) Sets New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after Stephens raised their price target on the stock from $24.00 to $45.00. Stephens currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. APA traded as high as $45.66 and last traded at $44.5680, with a volume of 2495919 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $44.39.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on APA. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on shares of APA from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Evercore increased their price objective on APA from $25.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Mizuho raised their price objective on APA from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on APA from $31.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Johnson Rice raised APA from a “hold” rating to an “accumulate” rating and increased their price target for the stock 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, twenty have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.38.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Matthew Regis Bob sold 23,000 shares of APA stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.23, for a total transaction of $833,290.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $240,349.82. This trade represents a 77.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting APA

Here are the key news stories impacting APA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Stephens raised its price target to $45 (from $24) and kept an “equal weight” rating — a meaningful upward revision that signals improved analyst conviction on valuation. Stephens adjusts price target on APA
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup also lifted its price target to $45 (from $25) while keeping a “neutral” rating — another upward target re-rate that supports upside consensus near the mid-$40s. Citigroup raises APA price target
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research nudged its FY2028 EPS estimate slightly higher to $2.69 (from $2.64), a small fundamental upgrade to forward earnings assumptions (Zacks maintains a “Hold”).
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple bullish independent write-ups and summaries (Yahoo, MSN, InsiderMonkey) are circulating analyses arguing for APA’s investment case — these can attract longer-term investors but may not move price immediately. Is APA a good stock to buy?
• Neutral Sentiment: News that APA Solar is expanding a manufacturing campus in Northwest Ohio is positive for that business line but appears peripheral to APA Corporation’s core oil & gas operations; impact on APA Corp. is uncertain. APA Solar expands manufacturing campus
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks published that “APA stock sinks as market gains” — the headline and coverage indicate the stock declined today despite analyst target upgrades, suggesting profit-taking, short-term rotation, or sector-level forces outweighed positive fundamental/target revisions. APA Stock Sinks As Market Gains

Institutional Trading of APA

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of APA by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 33,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $700,000 after purchasing an additional 2,070 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in APA by 49.6% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 10,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 3,578 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in APA by 43.3% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,668,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,092,000 after purchasing an additional 806,252 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its holdings in APA by 10.6% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 44,833 shares of the company’s stock worth $942,000 after purchasing an additional 4,297 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of APA by 8.2% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 71,493 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,308,000 after buying an additional 5,439 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Trading Down 3.0%

The firm has a market capitalization of $14.99 billion, a PE ratio of 10.64 and a beta of 0.67. 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 company’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.82.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 26.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that APA Corporation will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.4%. APA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.06%.

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.