APA (NASDAQ:APA) Upgraded at The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of APA (NASDAQ:APA) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on APA. Barclays increased their price target on APA from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of APA in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of APA from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of APA from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Roth Capital cut APA from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.24.

APA Trading Up 2.4%

APA opened at $25.12 on Monday. APA has a twelve month low of $13.58 and a twelve month high of $27.48. The company has a fifty day moving average of $22.12 and a 200-day moving average of $19.43. The stock has a market cap of $8.99 billion, a PE ratio of 8.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.99 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.42. APA had a net margin of 10.53% and a return on equity of 20.98%. The business had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.17 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that APA will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 22nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. APA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.44%.

Institutional Trading of APA

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in APA. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of APA by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 36,439,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $765,964,000 after acquiring an additional 1,029,961 shares during the period. Harris Associates L P boosted its position in APA by 1.9% during the first quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 25,708,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $540,393,000 after purchasing an additional 488,530 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of APA by 2.0% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,208,961 shares of the company’s stock worth $259,882,000 after purchasing an additional 275,981 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of APA by 46.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,080,787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $190,876,000 after purchasing an additional 2,894,543 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of APA by 157.1% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,060,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,970,000 after purchasing an additional 1,869,891 shares during the period. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.