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

APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 21,526 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 85% compared to the average volume of 11,614 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On APA

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of APA by 0.5% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 94,848 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,303,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the period. one8zero8 LLC boosted its position in APA by 1.2% in the third quarter. one8zero8 LLC now owns 42,254 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,026,000 after buying an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in APA by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 106,734 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,592,000 after buying an additional 517 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in APA by 19.6% during the 2nd quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,349 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in APA by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 24,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $603,000 after acquiring an additional 582 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Price Performance

APA opened at $26.95 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.48, a PEG ratio of 6.77 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. APA has a 12-month low of $13.58 and a 12-month high of $26.98. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.40.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. APA had a net margin of 15.49% and a return on equity of 19.86%. The company’s revenue was down 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.00 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that APA will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 22nd. APA’s payout ratio is 24.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on APA. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on APA from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on APA from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. UBS Group raised their price target on APA from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of APA from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, William Blair began coverage on shares of APA in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.90.

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.