APA (NASDAQ:APA) Given New $44.00 Price Target at Truist Financial

APA (NASDAQ:APA) had its target price increased by Truist Financial from $39.00 to $44.00 in a research note published on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has a hold rating on the stock.

APA has been the topic of several other reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded APA from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday. Seaport Research Partners initiated coverage on APA in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Susquehanna raised their price objective on APA from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on APA from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on APA from $44.00 to $41.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.14.

APA Stock Down 2.4%

APA opened at $43.81 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. APA has a 1-year low of $21.63 and a 1-year high of $47.44. The company has a market capitalization of $15.35 billion, a PE ratio of 9.26, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.37. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.15.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. APA had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 24.84%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.87 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that APA will post 5.7 EPS for the current year.

APA announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, September 16th that allows the company to buyback 40,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

APA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, October 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.14%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Two Sigma Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of APA in the 2nd quarter worth about $835,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP purchased a new position in shares of APA during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,468,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in shares of APA by 85.2% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 80,815 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,976,000 after buying an additional 37,180 shares during the period. Madison Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of APA during the second quarter valued at approximately $10,703,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of APA by 20.1% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 193,102 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,723,000 after buying an additional 32,357 shares during the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

APA Company Profile

APA Corporation (NASDAQ: APA) is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The company operates through subsidiaries and manages upstream assets spanning exploration, drilling, production and related field-development activities.

APA’s principal producing operations are in the Permian Basin of the United States and in Egypt. The company has also pursued offshore exploration opportunities in Suriname, where it has participated in drilling and appraisal activities in the country’s offshore blocks.