APA (NASDAQ:APA) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $36.15, but opened at $34.63. APA shares last traded at $35.77, with a volume of 748,697 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stephens raised their target price on shares of APA from $43.00 to $47.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of APA from $38.00 to $41.00 in a report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of APA from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of APA from $29.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Roth Capital upgraded shares of APA from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $37.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, APA presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.35.

APA Trading Down 1.6%

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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.98. The company has a market cap of $12.58 billion, a PE ratio of 8.27 and a beta of 0.35.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.27. The company 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was down 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.06 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that APA Corporation will post 4.92 EPS for the current year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 22nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other APA news, VP Mark D. Maddox sold 9,800 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president owned 66,810 shares in the company, valued at $2,675,072.40. This represents a 12.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APA

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sunpointe LLC increased its stake in shares of APA by 7.2% in the second quarter. Sunpointe LLC now owns 8,986 shares of the company’s stock worth $293,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in APA by 4.2% during the second quarter. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC now owns 78,468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,556,000 after purchasing an additional 3,185 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in APA by 23.0% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 17,266 shares of the company’s stock valued at $562,000 after purchasing an additional 3,223 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in APA by 61.9% in the second quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 10,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 4,037 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in APA by 7.5% in the second quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 27,759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $904,000 after purchasing an additional 1,934 shares in the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.