APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) Stock Now Rated “Hold” by Sell-Side Brokerages

APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the thirty-one research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $45.31.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded APA from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on APA in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research upgraded APA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Seaport Research Partners began coverage on APA in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Argus raised APA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $48.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 19th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On APA

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in APA during the second quarter valued at $1,173,231,000. State Street Corp lifted its stake in APA by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,181,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $820,159,000 after purchasing an additional 377,429 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in APA by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 16,376,952 shares of the company’s stock worth $695,099,000 after purchasing an additional 1,055,016 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of APA by 1,726.2% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,834,502 shares of the company’s stock valued at $205,176,000 after purchasing an additional 4,569,779 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of APA by 55.0% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,154,301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $176,309,000 after purchasing an additional 1,473,626 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Stock Up 1.6%

APA opened at $48.44 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. APA has a fifty-two week low of $23.06 and a fifty-two week high of $52.96. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $46.18 and its 200 day moving average is $38.59. The stock has a market cap of $16.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.29.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.34. APA had a net margin of 23.08% and a return on equity of 28.34%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.48 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.93 EPS. APA’s quarterly revenue was up 30.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that APA will post 6.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

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

APA announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, September 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase 40,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Share buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.