Analysts Set APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) Price Target at $26.73

Shares of APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-five ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $26.7273.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on APA from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. William Blair initiated coverage on APA in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on APA from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Capital One Financial upped their price objective on shares of APA from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $31.00 target price on shares of APA in a report on Monday, November 24th.

Institutional Trading of APA

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of APA by 2.0% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 641,750 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,490,000 after acquiring an additional 12,746 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in APA during the 1st quarter worth approximately $467,000. Norinchukin Bank The grew its position in APA by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 14,347 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 1,171 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in APA by 1,069.0% during the 1st quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 23,006 shares of the company’s stock valued at $484,000 after purchasing an additional 21,038 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in APA during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Price Performance

Shares of APA stock opened at $24.18 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.81, a P/E/G ratio of 6.57 and a beta of 0.75. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.29. APA has a one year low of $13.58 and a one year high of $27.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. APA had a net margin of 15.49% and a return on equity of 19.86%. The company’s revenue was down 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.00 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that APA will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 22nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. APA’s payout ratio is 24.04%.

About APA

APA Corporation (NASDAQ: APA) is an independent exploration and production company engaged in the acquisition, development and production of oil and natural gas resources. The company operates through three core regions: the United States, Egypt and the North Sea. Through its integrated approach, APA combines geological and geophysical expertise with technical innovation to identify and develop hydrocarbons in both onshore and offshore settings.

In the United States, APA’s largest position is in the Permian Basin of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, where it holds substantial acreage dedicated to oil-focused drilling and production.