APA Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:APA)

APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) saw some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Investors purchased 22,494 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 92% compared to the average volume of 11,718 call options.

APA Stock Performance

NASDAQ APA traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $24.36. 2,992,362 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,660,262. The company has a market capitalization of $8.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.86, a P/E/G ratio of 6.50 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The business’s 50 day moving average is $24.20 and its 200-day moving average is $22.18. APA has a 1 year low of $13.58 and a 1 year high of $27.72.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.19. APA had a net margin of 15.49% and a return on equity of 19.86%. The business had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.00 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that APA will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 22nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.04%.

Institutional Trading of APA

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of APA. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in APA by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 733,038 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,408,000 after buying an additional 35,814 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of APA by 2.0% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 641,750 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,490,000 after acquiring an additional 12,746 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of APA during the first quarter worth approximately $467,000. Norinchukin Bank The raised its stake in APA by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 14,347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 1,171 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC raised its stake in APA by 1,069.0% in the 1st quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 23,006 shares of the company’s stock valued at $484,000 after purchasing an additional 21,038 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective on shares of APA in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Citigroup upped their target price on APA from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. Roth Capital raised their price target on shares of APA from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of APA from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of APA from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $26.73.

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.