APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the thirty brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seventeen have issued a hold recommendation, eight have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $40.9615.

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on APA from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Bank of America raised their target price on APA from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Stephens lifted their target price on APA from $24.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Capital One Financial boosted their price target on shares of APA from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Evercore increased their price target on shares of APA from $25.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th.

Insider Activity at APA

In related news, Director Matthew Regis Bob sold 23,000 shares of APA stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.23, for a total value of $833,290.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $240,349.82. The trade was a 77.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Mark D. Maddox sold 9,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.04, for a total value of $392,392.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 66,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,675,072.40. The trade was a 12.79% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in APA. Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its holdings in APA by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 79,048 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,355,000 after acquiring an additional 2,703 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd lifted its holdings in APA by 36.7% during the first quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 1,229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Amundi bought a new position in APA during the first quarter worth about $584,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in APA by 27.5% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 1,181 shares during the period. Finally, Empyrean Capital Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of APA in the first quarter worth about $6,026,000. Institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Trading Down 2.3%

NASDAQ:APA opened at $36.62 on Friday. APA has a 52 week low of $16.88 and a 52 week high of $45.66. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $39.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market cap of $12.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.54 and a beta of 0.38.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. APA had a return on equity of 20.70% and a net margin of 17.38%.The company’s revenue was down 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.06 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that APA will post 5.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.31%.

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.