APA Corporation (APA) – What Are Researchers Thinking About This Stock?

APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirty-one research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, fifteen have assigned a hold recommendation, eleven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $44.76.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of APA from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Benchmark raised their price target on shares of APA from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on APA from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. KeyCorp set a $46.00 price target on APA in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of APA from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 15th.

APA Stock Performance

APA stock opened at $51.90 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $18.18 billion, a PE ratio of 10.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $44.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.51. APA has a twelve month low of $21.63 and a twelve month high of $52.39.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.90 by ($0.01). APA had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 24.84%. The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.87 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that APA will post 6.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 22nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. APA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.14%.

APA announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, September 16th that allows the company to buy back 40,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Share repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On APA

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of APA. Hollencrest Capital Management boosted its holdings in APA by 520.8% during the first quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 596 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in APA during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Compass Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in APA in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. MidFirst Bank acquired a new stake in shares of APA in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in APA in the 1st quarter valued at $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

About APA

APA Corporation is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The company’s activities include identifying hydrocarbon resources, drilling and completing wells, operating producing properties, and managing related infrastructure.

APA’s principal producing areas include the Permian Basin in the United States and Egypt’s Western Desert, where it operates through joint ventures with the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation.