APA (NASDAQ:APA) Price Target Raised to $40.00

APA (NASDAQ:APA) had its target price lifted by Evercore from $25.00 to $40.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on APA from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of APA from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 5th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of APA to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Wolfe Research increased their target price on shares of APA from $39.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of APA from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.96.

APA Trading Up 3.6%

APA opened at $42.80 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $30.33 and a 200 day moving average of $26.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. APA has a 12 month low of $13.58 and a 12 month high of $43.22. The firm has a market cap of $15.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.73 and a beta of 0.67.

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

APA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 22nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at APA

In other news, Director Matthew Regis Bob sold 23,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.23, for a total transaction of $833,290.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $240,349.82. The trade was a 77.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APA. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in APA by 869.7% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 194,418 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,872,000 after purchasing an additional 174,369 shares during the period. United Capital Management of KS Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of APA in the 3rd quarter worth $1,214,000. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of APA by 38.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of APA during the 3rd quarter worth $2,337,000. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of APA by 2,049.4% during the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 403,511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,797,000 after buying an additional 384,738 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

More APA News

Here are the key news stories impacting APA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Capital One raised its price target on APA to $51 and kept an “overweight” rating — the new target implies meaningful upside from recent levels. Capital One adjusts price target on APA to $51 from $32; maintains overweight rating
• Positive Sentiment: Raymond James raised its target to $45 and kept an “outperform” rating, supporting near-term upside momentum. Raymond James adjusts price target on APA to $45 from $31; maintains outperform rating
• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs commentary signaled expectations of a price rise, adding to bullish analyst tone supporting the rally. APA (NASDAQ:APA) Stock Price Expected to Rise, The Goldman Sachs Group Analyst Says
• Positive Sentiment: Operational news: APA reported a new gas discovery in Egypt that could accelerate production, reduce unit costs and support Egypt’s effort to cut imports — a clear fundamental positive. APA’s New Gas Discovery Strengthens Egypt’s Energy Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: APA hit a new 52-week high after analyst upgrades, reflecting strong market reaction to the above analyst and operational developments. APA (NASDAQ:APA) Sets New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: Barclays moved APA to Equal Weight — a mild vote of confidence but less incremental than the price-target raises. Barclays Upgrades APA to Equal Weight
• Neutral Sentiment: Truist initiated coverage with a Hold, which is neutral-to-slightly-cautious relative to the other bullish notes. Truist Financial Initiates Coverage on APA

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.