APA (NASDAQ:APA) Reaches New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday after Mizuho raised their price target on the stock from $22.00 to $24.00. Mizuho currently has an underperform rating on the stock. APA traded as high as $30.10 and last traded at $29.4630, with a volume of 1969979 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $29.10.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on APA from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Wolfe Research boosted their target price on shares of APA from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley decreased 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. Johnson Rice raised shares of APA from a “hold” rating to an “accumulate” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $35.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their target price on APA from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.39.

More APA News

Here are the key news stories impacting APA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beats and strong cash flow — APA topped EPS and revenue estimates for Q4, reported robust free cash flow (>$1B) and emphasized disciplined capital allocation, which investors see as supportive for buybacks/debt reduction. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: 2026 capital plan and cost savings — Management signaled a $2.1B capital plan for 2026 and is targeting ~$450M of annual cost savings, which should improve cash flow and margin leverage if realized. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Bullish analyst move — Wolfe Research raised its price target to $39 and kept an outperform rating, signaling material upside versus recent levels and providing a bullish research anchor. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed but modestly higher PTs from some banks — JPMorgan and Roth raised targets to $29 and $27 (neutral ratings), effectively putting targets near the current market price and indicating limited immediate upside from those shops. Article Title Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Short interest reporting appears inconsistent — Recent short‑interest snapshots in feeds show zeros/NaN and a 0.0 days-to-cover figure; data is unreliable and not driving price action today. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts still see downside — Mizuho and Evercore raised targets but maintained underperform/in-line stances at $24 and $25, implying double‑digit downside from recent levels and keeping pressure on the stock. Article Title Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Underlying operating weakness — Revenue and several operating metrics remain down year‑over‑year (lower volumes/prices), and Reuters noted Q4 profit fell year‑over‑year despite the beat — a reminder of commodity exposure and cyclical risk. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Institutional portfolio changes — Recent filings show large net reductions by some major holders (Harris, UBS) even as others added, signaling mixed institutional conviction. Article Title

Institutional Trading of APA

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its stake in APA by 276.7% during the third quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 891 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC boosted its stake in APA by 115.1% during the fourth quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 710 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new position in APA during the third quarter valued at $34,000. Camelot Portfolios LLC purchased a new stake in shares of APA in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of APA by 179.6% in the 3rd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 977 shares during the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

APA Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.47 billion, a PE ratio of 7.38, a PEG ratio of 12.72 and a beta of 0.74. The business’s 50 day moving average is $26.15 and its 200 day moving average is $24.45.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.89 billion. APA had a return on equity of 20.08% and a net margin of 15.55%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 26.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that APA Corporation will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.06%.

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.