APA (NASDAQ:APA) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) gapped down before the market opened on Friday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $45.00 to $40.00. The stock had previously closed at $37.90, but opened at $34.62. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. APA shares last traded at $33.6420, with a volume of 1,956,132 shares.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on APA from $26.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on APA from $35.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Barclays raised APA from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $35.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on APA from $31.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on APA from $29.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other APA news, Director Matthew Regis Bob sold 23,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.23, for a total value of $833,290.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,634 shares in the company, valued at $240,349.82. The trade was a 77.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APA

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APA. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its position in APA by 276.7% in the 3rd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 891 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC raised its position in APA by 115.1% in the 4th quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 710 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new position in APA in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Spire Wealth Management raised its position in APA by 179.6% in the 3rd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 977 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Camelot Portfolios LLC bought a new position in APA in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

APA Trading Down 5.7%

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market cap of $12.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.96 and a beta of 0.49.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.89 billion. APA had a net margin of 15.55% and a return on equity of 19.89%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 26.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.79 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that APA Corporation 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 Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 22nd will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.06%.

APA Company Profile

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.