APA (NASDAQ:APA) Stock Price Up 9.5% – Should You Buy?

APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) shares traded up 9.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $25.67 and last traded at $25.6210. 4,812,907 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 13% from the average session volume of 5,543,123 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.39.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on APA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of APA from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 8th. UBS Group raised 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. Roth Capital boosted their price objective on APA from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $31.00 target price on shares of APA in a report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on APA from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $26.64.

APA Trading Down 0.7%

The firm has a market capitalization of $8.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.23 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. APA had a return on equity of 19.86% and a net margin of 15.49%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.00 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that APA Corporation will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. APA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.04%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of APA by 38.8% in the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 284,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,199,000 after buying an additional 79,451 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of APA by 869.7% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 194,418 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,872,000 after acquiring an additional 174,369 shares in the last quarter. Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in APA by 33.3% in the second quarter. Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC now owns 400,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,316,000 after acquiring an additional 100,000 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in APA by 98.7% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 51,924 shares of the company’s stock valued at $950,000 after acquiring an additional 25,787 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group increased its position in APA by 22.0% during the 2nd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 914,667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,729,000 after purchasing an additional 165,006 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

About APA

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.