APA (NASDAQ:APA) Reaches New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after TD Cowen upgraded the stock to a hold rating. The company traded as high as $27.73 and last traded at $27.3310, with a volume of 149566 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $27.46.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on APA. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of APA in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on APA from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Mizuho raised their price objective on APA from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Capital One Financial dropped their target price on APA from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of APA from $23.00 to $21.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.35.

Institutional Trading of APA

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of APA by 6.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 33,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $700,000 after buying an additional 2,070 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in APA by 49.6% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 10,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 3,578 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of APA by 43.3% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,668,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,092,000 after acquiring an additional 806,252 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in shares of APA by 10.6% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 44,833 shares of the company’s stock valued at $942,000 after acquiring an additional 4,297 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of APA by 58.0% during the second quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 75,094 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,373,000 after acquiring an additional 27,560 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Trading Down 0.1%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a market capitalization of $9.74 billion, a PE ratio of 6.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.56 and a beta of 0.74. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $25.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.75.

APA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 22nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.04%.

APA Company Profile

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.