StockNews.com Downgrades APA (NASDAQ:APA) to Hold

StockNews.com cut shares of APA (NASDAQ:APA) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Saturday morning.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of APA from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an underperform rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Susquehanna upped their target price on APA from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a positive rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of APA from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of APA from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an underweight rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of APA in a report on Monday, April 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $42.20.

APA Stock Performance

Shares of APA opened at $30.26 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $32.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.91. APA has a 52-week low of $28.90 and a 52-week high of $46.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The company has a market capitalization of $9.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 3.29.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.89 billion. APA had a return on equity of 45.32% and a net margin of 34.04%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that APA will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.19%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APA

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of APA by 28.9% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 33,246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,193,000 after acquiring an additional 7,461 shares in the last quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. grew its position in APA by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,237,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,412,000 after acquiring an additional 38,505 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of APA during the 4th quarter worth $95,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its holdings in shares of APA by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 726,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,053,000 after purchasing an additional 90,610 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in APA by 1.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,531,313 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,037,000 after purchasing an additional 24,182 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Company Profile

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.