APA (NASDAQ:APA) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Monday after Zacks Research upgraded the stock from a strong sell rating to a hold rating. The stock had previously closed at $30.37, but opened at $32.52. APA shares last traded at $31.4080, with a volume of 2,499,429 shares traded.

APA has been the subject of a number of other research reports. TD Cowen upgraded APA to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Barclays set a $24.00 price target on shares of APA in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wolfe Research lifted their target price on APA from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on APA from $23.00 to $21.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on APA from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.39.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APA. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its stake in APA by 276.7% in the third quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 891 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC boosted its stake in APA by 115.1% during the 4th quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 710 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new stake in shares of APA in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Spire Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of APA by 179.6% during the third quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 977 shares during the period. Finally, Camelot Portfolios LLC bought a new position in APA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Trading Up 3.6%

The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $26.28 and a 200 day moving average of $24.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.88, a PEG ratio of 13.88 and a beta of 0.74.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.89 billion. APA had a net margin of 15.55% and a return on equity of 19.89%. The company’s revenue was down 26.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that APA Corporation will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. APA’s payout ratio is presently 25.06%.

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.