APA (NASDAQ:APA) Sets New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday after Mizuho raised their price target on the stock from $22.00 to $24.00. Mizuho currently has an underperform rating on the stock. APA traded as high as $30.10 and last traded at $29.4630, with a volume of 1969979 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $29.10.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Stephens increased their price target on APA from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on APA from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. William Blair initiated coverage on APA in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on APA from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of APA from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.39.

Key Stories Impacting APA

Here are the key news stories impacting APA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results and free cash flow beat — APA reported better‑than‑expected EPS and revenue and highlighted robust free cash flow and disciplined capital allocation, supporting the rally. APA beats quarterly profit estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic capital plan & cost savings — Management signaled a $2.1B 2026 capital plan and is targeting roughly $450M in annual cost savings, which improves free cash flow outlook and supports share gains. APA signals $2.1B capital plan
• Positive Sentiment: Bullish analyst move — Wolfe Research raised its price target to $39 and kept an “outperform” rating, implying material upside and likely helping buying interest. Wolfe raises PT to $39
• Neutral Sentiment: Major bank neutral adjustments — Roth MKM and JPMorgan raised targets to $27 and $29 respectively but maintained neutral ratings, narrowing upside and signaling mixed conviction. Roth raises PT to $27 JPMorgan raises PT to $29
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts still see downside — Mizuho and Evercore raised price targets but keep below‑current valuations (to $24 and $25) with underperform/in‑line stances, which likely caps gains for investors focused on downside risk. Mizuho adjusts PT to $24 Evercore adjusts PT to $25

Institutional Investors Weigh In On APA

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APA. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of APA by 6.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 33,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $700,000 after purchasing an additional 2,070 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of APA by 49.6% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 10,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $227,000 after buying an additional 3,578 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in APA by 43.3% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,668,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,092,000 after buying an additional 806,252 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in APA by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 44,833 shares of the company’s stock worth $942,000 after buying an additional 4,297 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in APA by 11.4% in the 2nd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 12,015 shares of the company’s stock worth $220,000 after buying an additional 1,233 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Trading Up 4.4%

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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.61, a PEG ratio of 13.30 and a beta of 0.74.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.29. APA had a return on equity of 20.08% and a net margin of 15.55%.The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 26.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that APA Corporation will post 4.03 EPS for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.