APA (NASDAQ:APA) Price Target Raised to $24.00

APA (NASDAQ:APA) had its target price raised by Stephens from $23.00 to $24.00 in a report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Stephens currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on APA. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on APA from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of APA in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Capital One Financial cut their price target on APA from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective on shares of APA in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Evercore dropped their target price on shares of APA from $21.00 to $16.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, APA currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $26.39.

APA Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of APA stock opened at $29.08 on Tuesday. APA has a one year low of $13.58 and a one year high of $30.08. The company has a market cap of $10.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.99, a PEG ratio of 13.08 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $25.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.11.

APA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 22nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. 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 payout ratio is presently 24.04%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On APA

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in APA by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,321,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $374,786,000 after purchasing an additional 1,291,706 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in APA by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,710,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $359,807,000 after buying an additional 285,542 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in APA by 21.8% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,425,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $255,010,000 after buying an additional 1,864,900 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of APA by 76.9% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 7,171,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $175,426,000 after acquiring an additional 3,117,032 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of APA by 29.6% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,462,476 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,349,000 after acquiring an additional 1,018,326 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

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.