APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty-five research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, sixteen have issued a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $26.5909.

APA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on shares of APA from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 5th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on APA from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Roth Capital increased their target price on APA from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Wolfe Research lowered their target price on APA from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of APA from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 26th.

APA Stock Performance

APA stock opened at $25.78 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $24.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.89. The company has a market capitalization of $9.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.20, a P/E/G ratio of 10.62 and a beta of 0.74. APA has a 12 month low of $13.58 and a 12 month high of $27.72.

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

APA Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 22nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. APA’s payout ratio is currently 24.04%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APA. Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of APA by 0.5% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 94,848 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,303,000 after buying an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. one8zero8 LLC raised its holdings in shares of APA by 1.2% in the third quarter. one8zero8 LLC now owns 42,254 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,026,000 after buying an additional 488 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in APA by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 106,734 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,592,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in APA by 19.6% in the second quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,349 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in shares of APA by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. now owns 30,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $736,000 after buying an additional 555 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

About APA

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.