APA (NASDAQ:APA) Upgraded to Equal Weight at Barclays

Barclays upgraded shares of APA (NASDAQ:APA) from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research note released on Monday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $35.00 price target on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on APA. William Blair began coverage on APA in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. Stephens increased their price objective on APA from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Wolfe Research raised their price objective on APA from $39.00 to $45.00 in a report on Monday, March 9th. Evercore lifted their target price on shares of APA from $21.00 to $25.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of APA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.84.

APA Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ APA opened at $39.03 on Monday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.98. APA has a 52-week low of $13.58 and a 52-week high of $39.51. The firm has a market cap of $13.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.78 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 26.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that APA will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 22nd will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.06%.

Insider Transactions at APA

In other news, Director Matthew Regis Bob sold 23,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.23, for a total value of $833,290.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $240,349.82. This represents a 77.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of APA

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in APA by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 33,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $700,000 after purchasing an additional 2,070 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 3,578 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of APA by 43.3% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,668,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,092,000 after buying an additional 806,252 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 4,297 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning lifted its stake in APA by 101.6% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 141,758 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,593,000 after acquiring an additional 71,451 shares in the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

APA News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting APA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays upgraded APA from “underweight” to “equal weight,” citing benefits from LNG-linked price contracts and improved gas-marketing outlooks — a catalyst that supports APA’s commodity-price exposure and marketing earnings. APA upgraded at Barclays on benefit from LNG-linked price contracts Barclays upgrades APA stock rating on gas marketing outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts lifted price targets — a recent note raised APA’s target to $38, signaling upside from certain providers and reflecting continued analyst interest in the name. APA (NASDAQ:APA) Price Target Raised to $38.00
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary highlights APA’s strong uptrend and outperformance versus the S&P 500, which can attract momentum and technical traders but also invite profit-taking. Is APA Stock Outperforming the S&P 500? Stock Of The Day: When Will APA Corp Reverse?
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data published for March appears to be reporting zero shares (likely a data anomaly), so it provides no actionable short pressure signal today. (Note: average daily volume remains high.)
• Negative Sentiment: Goldman Sachs nudged its price target to $30 but kept a “sell” rating — a mixed-to-negative stance that implies downside and may cap momentum among institutional investors. Goldman Sachs adjusts APA’s price target to $30 from $29, keeps sell rating
• Negative Sentiment: An APA director disclosed an insider sale of roughly $833k — a short-term negative signal that can increase selling pressure or investor caution. Insider Selling: APA Director Sells $833,290.00 in Stock

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.