APA (NASDAQ:APA) Given New $51.00 Price Target at Capital One Financial

APA (NASDAQ:APA) had its target price hoisted by Capital One Financial from $32.00 to $51.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,MarketScreener reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

APA has been the topic of a number of other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on APA from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on APA from $23.00 to $21.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Truist Financial began coverage on APA in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore upped their target price on APA from $25.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Roth Mkm increased their target price on shares of APA from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.96.

APA Price Performance

APA stock opened at $42.17 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.57 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $29.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. APA has a 52-week low of $13.58 and a 52-week high of $42.62.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.89 billion. APA had a net margin of 15.55% and a return on equity of 19.89%. APA’s revenue for the quarter was down 26.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that APA will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 22nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 22nd. APA’s payout ratio is currently 25.06%.

Insider Activity at APA

In related news, Director Matthew Regis Bob sold 23,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.23, for a total transaction of $833,290.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,634 shares in the company, valued at $240,349.82. This represents a 77.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APA

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of APA by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 33,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $700,000 after buying an additional 2,070 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in APA by 49.6% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 10,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 3,578 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in APA by 43.3% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,668,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,092,000 after purchasing an additional 806,252 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in APA by 10.6% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 44,833 shares of the company’s stock worth $942,000 after purchasing an additional 4,297 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in APA by 8.2% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 71,493 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,308,000 after purchasing an additional 5,439 shares in the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key APA News

Here are the key news stories impacting APA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Capital One raised its price target sharply to $51 and kept an “overweight” rating — a material bullish signal that implies further upside from current levels. Capital One Adjusts Price Target on APA to $51 from $32; Maintains Overweight Rating
• Positive Sentiment: Raymond James raised its target to $45 and kept an “outperform” view, supporting momentum from the analyst community. Raymond James Adjusts Price Target on APA to $45 from $31; Maintains Outperform Rating
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays upgraded APA to Equal Weight (an improvement from prior stance), adding to the stream of analyst upgrades that are driving buy-side interest. Barclays Upgrades APA to Equal Weight
• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs commentary and other analyst notes have signaled expected upside, and APA briefly hit a new 52-week high following upgrades — momentum that attracts short-term flows and momentum traders. APA Sets New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Operational catalyst — APA reported a new natural gas discovery in Egypt’s Western Desert, which could accelerate local production, reduce unit costs and support margins over time. This is a tangible production upside rather than purely sentiment-driven. APA’s New Gas Discovery Strengthens Egypt’s Energy Outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Truist initiated coverage with a Hold, introducing a more mixed analyst voice — limits unanimous bullishness and may cap upside for some investors. Truist Initiates Coverage on APA
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest reports in the feed contain conflicting/erroneous entries (zeros/NaN alongside a prior reported decline to ~29.7M shares, ~8.5% short). The most reliable prior data showed a drop in shorts (potentially removing a bearish overhang), but current reporting noise makes this a mixed signal.

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.