APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 14,400,000 shares, a decline of 13.0% from the July 15th total of 16,550,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 5,600,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days. Approximately 3.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on APA. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of APA from $54.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $31.00 target price on shares of APA in a report on Friday, June 14th. Citigroup dropped their price target on APA from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of APA in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $42.00 price target for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $41.00 target price on shares of APA in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.27.

APA Stock Performance

APA stock traded down $0.23 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $29.25. 3,230,141 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,271,692. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. APA has a twelve month low of $26.81 and a twelve month high of $46.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 3.26.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.22. APA had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 32.66%. The company had revenue of $2.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 41.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that APA will post 4.17 earnings per share for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 22nd. APA’s payout ratio is 11.19%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of APA by 131.7% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,813,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,704,000 after purchasing an additional 2,736,041 shares in the last quarter. Harris Associates L P lifted its stake in shares of APA by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 15,705,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $563,520,000 after purchasing an additional 2,367,570 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of APA by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,648,084 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,535,001,000 after purchasing an additional 2,004,555 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of APA by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 20,299,538 shares of the company’s stock worth $728,347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,938,335 shares during the period. Finally, Webs Creek Capital Management LP bought a new stake in APA in the first quarter valued at about $28,593,000. 83.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.