APA (NASDAQ:APA) Stock Price Breaks Above 50-Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA)’s share price passed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $46.04 and traded as high as $46.79. APA shares last traded at $46.74, with a volume of 4,024,765 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APA has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of APA from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Stephens raised their price target on shares of APA from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 5th. Roth Capital set a $39.00 price target on shares of APA in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of APA from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on shares of APA from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.14.

APA Stock Up 3.6%

The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.37. The company has a market cap of $15.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.29.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.48 billion. APA had a return on equity of 28.34% and a net margin of 23.08%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 30.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.93 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that APA Corporation will post 6.61 EPS for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, October 22nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. APA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.23%.

APA declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, September 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase 40,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APA

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hollencrest Capital Management raised its position in shares of APA by 520.8% during the 1st quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 596 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its stake in shares of APA by 623.0% during the third quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 542 shares during the period. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of APA during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Compass Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of APA during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, MidFirst Bank bought a new stake in APA during the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

About APA

APA Corporation is an independent energy company that explores for, develops and produces crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its activities include operating wells and related infrastructure, as well as evaluating and developing oil and natural gas resources. The company’s principal operating areas include the United States and Egypt. APA also has offshore exploration interests in Suriname, where it has worked with partners to assess resources in the region. APA traces its history to Apache Corporation, founded in 1954.