Traders Purchase Large Volume of APA Call Options (NASDAQ:APA)

APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) was the target of some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock investors bought 31,556 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 51% compared to the average volume of 20,944 call options.

APA Trading Up 3.6%

Shares of APA stock opened at $18.50 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.18. APA has a 52-week low of $13.58 and a 52-week high of $33.41. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.17 billion. APA had a net margin of 24.36% and a return on equity of 27.86%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that APA will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 22nd. APA’s payout ratio is 35.97%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of APA by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 113,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,630,000 after acquiring an additional 449 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in APA by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 77,110 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,780,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares during the period. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV boosted its stake in APA by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 46,063 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,018,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of APA by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 138,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,070,000 after purchasing an additional 544 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its holdings in shares of APA by 77.9% during 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. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on APA shares. Barclays cut their target price on APA from $25.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Citigroup increased their target price on APA from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Scotiabank cut their target price on APA from $26.00 to $14.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $25.00 target price (up from $23.00) on shares of APA in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price target on APA from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.21.

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.