APA (NASDAQ:APA) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of APA (NASDAQ:APA) in a research note released on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued an overweight rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank reissued a sector perform rating and set a $37.00 price objective (down previously from $43.00) on shares of APA in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on APA from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on APA from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Mizuho reduced their price target on APA from $36.00 to $34.00 and set an underperform rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on APA from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a sell rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $42.25.

APA Price Performance

APA opened at $32.49 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $9.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 3.27. APA has a 1 year low of $29.47 and a 1 year high of $46.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $32.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.42.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. APA had a net margin of 34.95% and a return on equity of 62.64%. APA’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.48 EPS. Analysts forecast that APA will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%. APA’s dividend payout ratio is 10.78%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On APA

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. HB Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of APA in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $256,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of APA by 28.9% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings 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 worth $44,412,000 after acquiring an additional 38,505 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of APA by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 726,126 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,053,000 after acquiring an additional 90,610 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings 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 worth $104,037,000 after acquiring an additional 24,182 shares in the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by 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.