APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the nineteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $28.60.

Several equities analysts recently commented on APA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of APA from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of APA from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of APA from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of APA from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of APA from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th.

APA Stock Performance

NASDAQ APA opened at $20.61 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 3.26. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.04. APA has a 1 year low of $17.66 and a 1 year high of $36.05.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. APA had a return on equity of 27.86% and a net margin of 24.36%. As a group, research analysts expect that APA will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.85%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.25%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On APA

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of APA. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its holdings in APA by 1,087.9% in the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,077 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its holdings in APA by 84.1% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares during the period. Riverview Trust Co grew its holdings in APA by 5,718.2% in the fourth quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 1,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,258 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its holdings in APA by 77.9% in the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 1,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 586 shares during the period. Finally, Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in APA in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About APA

APA Corporation, an independent energy company, explores for, develops, and produces natural gas, crude oil, and natural gas liquids. It has oil and gas operations in the United States, Egypt, and North Sea. The company also has exploration and appraisal activities in Suriname, as well as holds interests in projects located in Uruguay and internationally.