APA (NASDAQ:APA) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) shares gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $36.15, but opened at $34.63. APA shares last traded at $35.77, with a volume of 748,697 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on APA shares. Susquehanna dropped their target price on APA from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of APA from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of APA from $38.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of APA from $29.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of APA from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Eight 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.35.

APA Trading Down 1.6%

The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.27 and a beta of 0.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $35.56 and a 200 day moving average of $33.98.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.27. APA had a return on equity of 20.70% and a net margin of 17.38%.The firm had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.06 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that APA Corporation will post 4.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 22nd. APA’s payout ratio is currently 23.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Mark D. Maddox sold 9,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.04, for a total value of $392,392.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 66,810 shares in the company, valued at $2,675,072.40. This represents a 12.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.73% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of APA

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sunpointe LLC boosted its holdings in shares of APA by 7.2% in the second quarter. Sunpointe LLC now owns 8,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in APA by 4.2% during the second quarter. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC now owns 78,468 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,556,000 after purchasing an additional 3,185 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of APA by 23.0% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 17,266 shares of the company’s stock worth $562,000 after buying an additional 3,223 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its holdings in APA by 61.9% in the 2nd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 10,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $344,000 after acquiring an additional 4,037 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in APA by 7.5% during the second quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 27,759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $904,000 after purchasing an additional 1,934 shares during the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.