APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-one research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have assigned a hold recommendation, six have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $34.18.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on APA. Bernstein Bank cut their target price on APA from $30.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Susquehanna cut their target price on APA from $52.00 to $48.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on APA from $26.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group cut their target price on APA from $35.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their target price on APA from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th.

APA Stock Down 1.6 %

APA opened at $23.31 on Friday. APA has a one year low of $22.72 and a one year high of $40.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $25.79 and its 200-day moving average is $28.51. The company has a market capitalization of $8.65 billion, a PE ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 3.23.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $2.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. APA had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 32.66%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 41.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.85 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that APA will post 3.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.29%. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.19%.

Institutional Trading of APA

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in APA. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of APA during the 1st quarter worth about $210,000. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in APA in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $327,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in APA by 35.3% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,945 shares of the company’s stock valued at $514,000 after acquiring an additional 3,902 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in APA by 49.0% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 27,769 shares of the company’s stock valued at $955,000 after acquiring an additional 9,133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System raised its holdings in APA by 15.1% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 113,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,901,000 after acquiring an additional 14,900 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Company Profile

APA Corporation, an independent energy company, explores for, develops, and produces natural gas, crude oil, and natural gas liquids. It has oil and gas operations in the United States, Egypt, and North Sea. The company also has exploration and appraisal activities in Suriname, as well as holds interests in projects located in Uruguay and internationally.