APA (NASDAQ:APA) Hits New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Thursday after Piper Sandler raised their price target on the stock from $30.00 to $37.00. Piper Sandler currently has a neutral rating on the stock. APA traded as high as $33.81 and last traded at $33.7850, with a volume of 1862394 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $32.97.

APA has been the topic of several other research reports. Zacks Research raised APA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on APA from $23.00 to $21.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Capital One Financial raised their target price on shares of APA from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of APA from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays set a $24.00 price target on shares of APA in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, APA presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $29.92.

APA News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting APA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler raised its price target to $37 (now “Neutral”), boosting upside narrative and supporting today’s buying interest. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Capital One lifted its target to $32 and maintained an “Overweight” stance, signaling conviction from a buyside-focused shop. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: RBC and other outlets have raised targets and highlighted oil-strength/earnings momentum as fundamental support for APA shares, adding to the bullish analyst chorus. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Several independent and sell-side pieces (Wolfe Research, Jefferies coverage summaries, and bullish writeups on Seeking Alpha) reinforce a narrative that APA may be undervalued given cash flow and dividend profile. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest reports show effectively zero reported short volume (with anomalous NaN reporting), which appears to be reporting noise rather than a meaningful change in short positioning; not a clear market mover.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks trimmed Q2 and Q4 2026 EPS estimates (Q2 to $0.44, Q4 to $0.46) and lowered FY2028 forecasts — a direct negative to near-term earnings expectations that can cap upside. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Goldman Sachs increased its target to $29 but kept a “Sell” rating, implying limited upside and contributing downside pressure from a prominent sell-side voice. Read More.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APA

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of APA by 6.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 33,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $700,000 after acquiring an additional 2,070 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in APA by 49.6% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 10,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 3,578 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in APA by 43.3% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,668,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,092,000 after purchasing 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 valued at $942,000 after purchasing an additional 4,297 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in APA by 25.9% during the 2nd quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 871 shares during the period. 83.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

APA Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $11.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.42, a PEG ratio of 17.10 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.29. APA had a return on equity of 19.89% and a net margin of 15.55%.The business had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.89 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 26.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that APA Corporation will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 22nd. APA’s payout ratio 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.