APA (NASDAQ:APA) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

StockNews.com cut shares of APA (NASDAQ:APA) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Saturday morning.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on APA. Morgan Stanley reissued an underweight rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of APA in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of APA from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an underperform rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on APA from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on APA from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a positive rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on APA from $59.00 to $53.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $42.05.

APA Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ APA traded up $0.08 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $29.26. The company had a trading volume of 9,600,753 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,374,839. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 3.29. APA has a 1-year low of $28.90 and a 1-year high of $46.15. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $32.52 and its 200-day moving average is $34.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.89 billion. APA had a net margin of 34.04% and a return on equity of 45.32%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that APA will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. APA’s dividend payout ratio is 11.19%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APA

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of APA by 28.9% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 33,246 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,193,000 after acquiring an additional 7,461 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of APA by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,237,787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,412,000 after purchasing an additional 38,505 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of APA during the fourth quarter valued at about $95,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd boosted its position in shares of APA by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 726,126 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,053,000 after purchasing an additional 90,610 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of APA by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,531,313 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,037,000 after buying an additional 24,182 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.