APA (NASDAQ:APA) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday. The company traded as high as $47.47 and last traded at $47.2870, with a volume of 223,324 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $46.84.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Argus upgraded shares of APA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $48.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Wall Street Zen raised APA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded APA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Seaport Research Partners assumed coverage on APA in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $41.00 target price on shares of APA in a research note on Sunday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.90.

APA Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $43.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.15. The stock has a market cap of $16.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.01, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.42.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. APA had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 24.84%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.87 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that APA Corporation will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio is 21.14%.

APA declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, September 16th that permits the company to repurchase 40,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Share buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of APA

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hollencrest Capital Management raised its holdings in APA by 520.8% in the first quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 596 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC purchased a new position in APA during the first quarter valued at $28,000. MidFirst Bank purchased a new position in APA during the second quarter valued at $33,000. Compass Financial Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of APA during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Gables Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of APA during the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About APA

APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The company’s activities include identifying prospective resources, drilling and completing wells, and managing producing assets across multiple international markets.

APA’s operations have historically been concentrated in the Permian Basin of the United States and in Egypt’s Western Desert, where it participates in exploration and production activities through joint ventures.