APA Corporation (APA) – What Are Analysts Saying About This Stock?

APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the thirty-one research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $44.76.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Roth Capital set a $39.00 price objective on shares of APA in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of APA from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, September 17th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of APA from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. KeyCorp set a $46.00 target price on shares of APA in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on APA from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th.

Institutional Trading of APA

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Independence Bank of Kentucky acquired a new stake in APA during the 3rd quarter valued at $61,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its position in APA by 18.3% during the third quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 15,450 shares of the company’s stock worth $642,000 after purchasing an additional 2,388 shares during the period. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY boosted its position in APA by 1.7% during the third quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 117,121 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,865,000 after purchasing an additional 1,940 shares during the period. Lakewood Asset Management LLC boosted its position in APA by 8.8% during the third quarter. Lakewood Asset Management LLC now owns 32,432 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,347,000 after purchasing an additional 2,620 shares during the period. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of APA by 33.7% in the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 37,123 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,542,000 after purchasing an additional 9,364 shares during the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

APA Price Performance

Shares of APA opened at $51.66 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $18.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.92, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.42. APA has a 1-year low of $21.63 and a 1-year high of $52.39. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $44.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 24.84% and a net margin of 19.48%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that APA will post 6.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 22nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. APA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.14%.

APA announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, September 16th that allows the company to buy back 40,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

APA Company Profile

APA Corporation 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 hydrocarbon resources, drilling and completing wells, operating producing properties, and managing related infrastructure.

APA’s principal producing areas include the Permian Basin in the United States and Egypt’s Western Desert, where it operates through joint ventures with the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation.