APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-one ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $35.19.

Several equities analysts recently commented on APA shares. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on APA from $37.00 to $30.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $41.00 target price on shares of APA in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $31.00 target price on shares of APA in a research report on Friday, June 14th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of APA from $35.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of APA from $35.00 to $28.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th.

APA Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of APA stock opened at $26.89 on Monday. APA has a 52-week low of $22.72 and a 52-week high of $43.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.98 billion, a PE ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 3.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $27.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.70.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $2.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. APA had a net margin of 32.66% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 41.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.85 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that APA will post 4.04 EPS for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 22nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.19%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APA

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of APA by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,648,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,535,001,000 after acquiring an additional 2,004,555 shares during the last quarter. Wealthquest Corp lifted its stake in APA by 21.7% in the fourth quarter. Wealthquest Corp now owns 154,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,533,000 after buying an additional 27,513 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in APA by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 20,299,538 shares of the company’s stock valued at $728,347,000 after buying an additional 1,938,335 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in APA by 18.5% during the first quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 48,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,673,000 after buying an additional 7,580 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ellis Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of APA during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,499,000. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.