APA Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:APA)

APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders purchased 40,732 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 247% compared to the typical daily volume of 11,724 put options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on APA shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on APA from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on APA from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on APA from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Roth Capital upped their price objective on shares of APA from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Cfra Research raised shares of APA to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.55.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APA

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of APA. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its position in shares of APA by 276.7% in the third quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 891 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in APA by 144.9% in the 2nd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,866 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,104 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in APA by 6,096.7% in the 2nd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,859 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,829 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new stake in APA during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of APA by 179.6% during the third quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 977 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Stock Performance

APA opened at $27.10 on Friday. 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 $27.72. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $23.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.61 billion, a PE ratio of 6.51, a P/E/G ratio of 7.15 and a beta of 0.75.

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

APA Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 22nd were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.04%.

APA Company Profile

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.