APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty-one analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $36.38.

APA has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of APA in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of APA from $34.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of APA from $57.00 to $52.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of APA from $35.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of APA from $35.00 to $28.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th.

APA Trading Up 6.0 %

NASDAQ APA opened at $24.53 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 3.24. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.85. APA has a 12 month low of $22.72 and a 12 month high of $43.58.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $2.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. APA had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 32.66%. APA’s quarterly revenue was up 41.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.85 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that APA will post 4.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.08%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.19%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APA

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in APA in the second quarter worth about $308,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its stake in shares of APA by 12.4% in the 2nd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 908,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,758,000 after purchasing an additional 100,160 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of APA by 160.1% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 75,593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,225,000 after purchasing an additional 46,535 shares in the last quarter. IMS Capital Management purchased a new stake in APA in the second quarter worth $318,000. Finally, Truist Financial Corp raised its holdings in APA by 44.0% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 38,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,140,000 after purchasing an additional 11,827 shares in the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About APA

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.