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

Shares of APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after Mizuho raised their price target on the stock from $24.00 to $29.00. Mizuho currently has an underperform rating on the stock. APA traded as high as $36.00 and last traded at $35.87, with a volume of 6603835 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $34.54.

Several other research analysts have also commented on APA. Evercore lifted their target price on APA from $21.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of APA in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wolfe Research raised their price target on APA from $39.00 to $45.00 in a report on Monday, March 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on APA from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on APA from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.16.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On APA

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its holdings in APA by 276.7% during 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 holdings 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 acquiring an additional 710 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new stake in APA during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Spire Wealth Management boosted 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 acquiring an additional 977 shares during the period. Finally, Camelot Portfolios LLC acquired a new position in shares of APA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 83.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

APA Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $28.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.56. The company has a market cap of $12.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 17.04 and a beta of 0.67.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last released 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 net margin of 15.55% and a return on equity of 19.89%. The business had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. APA’s revenue was down 26.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that APA Corporation will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.