APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) Receives $25.21 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the nineteen research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have assigned a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $25.21.

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective (up from $23.00) on shares of APA in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of APA from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on APA from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of APA from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of APA from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On APA

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of APA. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of APA by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,507,956 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,016,000 after acquiring an additional 200,770 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its position in shares of APA by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 47,719 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,102,000 after buying an additional 1,010 shares in the last quarter. Tobam raised its holdings in APA by 354.7% in the fourth quarter. Tobam now owns 15,124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $349,000 after acquiring an additional 11,798 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in shares of APA by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 400,409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,245,000 after purchasing an additional 28,664 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. bought a new stake in APA in the fourth quarter valued at about $487,000. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

APA Stock Up 1.7%

NASDAQ:APA opened at $19.61 on Friday. APA has a 52 week low of $13.58 and a 52 week high of $33.41. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $16.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.25.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.23. APA had a net margin of 24.36% and a return on equity of 27.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.17 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.78 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 35.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that APA will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.10%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.97%.

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.