APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the thirty research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eighteen have issued a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $41.0385.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on APA shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on APA from $29.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Citigroup lifted their target price on APA from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Bank of America lifted their target price on APA from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Mizuho raised their price target on APA from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on APA from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other APA news, VP Mark D. Maddox sold 9,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.04, for a total value of $392,392.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 66,810 shares in the company, valued at $2,675,072.40. This trade represents a 12.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of APA

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hollencrest Capital Management increased its position in shares of APA by 520.8% during the first quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 596 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of APA during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Summit Securities Group LLC increased its position in shares of APA by 115.1% during the fourth 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. Camelot Portfolios LLC acquired a new stake in shares of APA during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Community Bank N.A. acquired a new stake in shares of APA during the third quarter worth about $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Trading Down 1.5%

NASDAQ:APA opened at $34.26 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $12.11 billion, a PE ratio of 7.99 and a beta of 0.33. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $38.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.24. APA has a 12-month low of $17.74 and a 12-month high of $45.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. APA had a return on equity of 20.70% and a net margin of 17.38%.APA’s revenue was down 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.06 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that APA will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 22nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.31%.

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.