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

Shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eighteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have issued a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $25.79.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of APA from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Raymond James lowered APA from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley set a $20.00 price target on shares of APA and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of APA from $25.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of APA from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in APA by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,507,956 shares of the company’s stock worth $219,016,000 after acquiring an additional 200,770 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in APA by 22.8% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 65,071 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,503,000 after purchasing an additional 12,077 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in APA by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 47,719 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,102,000 after buying an additional 1,010 shares in the last quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted its stake in shares of APA by 175.8% during the 4th quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 23,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $543,000 after buying an additional 14,980 shares during the period. Finally, PVG Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of APA during the 3rd quarter valued at $757,000. 83.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

APA Trading Up 3.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ APA opened at $16.26 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 2.74. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $18.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. APA has a 52-week low of $13.58 and a 52-week high of $33.41.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. APA had a return on equity of 27.86% and a net margin of 24.36%. On average, analysts anticipate that APA will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.15%. APA’s payout ratio is presently 44.25%.

About APA

APA Corporation, an independent energy company, explores for, develops, and produces natural gas, crude oil, and natural gas liquids. It has oil and gas operations in the United States, Egypt, and North Sea. The company also has exploration and appraisal activities in Suriname, as well as holds interests in projects located in Uruguay and internationally.