Citigroup Issues Pessimistic Forecast for APA (NASDAQ:APA) Stock Price

APA (NASDAQ:APA) had its price objective trimmed by Citigroup from $24.00 to $20.00 in a report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

APA has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut APA from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $42.00 to $25.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on APA from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. UBS Group cut their price objective on APA from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on APA from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on APA from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.70.

APA Stock Performance

APA stock opened at $20.03 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $7.29 billion, a PE ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 3.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The business has a 50 day moving average of $22.22 and a 200-day moving average of $23.23. APA has a 12-month low of $17.66 and a 12-month high of $36.05.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. APA had a net margin of 24.36% and a return on equity of 27.86%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that APA will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.99%. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.25%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On APA

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in APA by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 113,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,630,000 after buying an additional 449 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in APA by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 77,110 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,780,000 after buying an additional 469 shares during the period. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV boosted its holdings in shares of APA by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 46,063 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,018,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of APA by 84.1% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,182 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of APA by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 138,991 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,070,000 after purchasing an additional 544 shares during the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.