APA (NASDAQ:APA) Shares Gap Up After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) gapped up before the market opened on Monday after Zacks Research upgraded the stock from a strong sell rating to a hold rating. The stock had previously closed at $30.37, but opened at $32.52. APA shares last traded at $31.4080, with a volume of 2,499,429 shares changing hands.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. William Blair began coverage on APA in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of APA from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of APA in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Capital One Financial cut their target price on shares of APA from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of APA in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.39.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of APA. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its position in APA by 276.7% in the third quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 891 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of APA by 115.1% in the 4th quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 710 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in APA in the third quarter worth $34,000. Spire Wealth Management boosted its holdings in APA by 179.6% in the third quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 977 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Camelot Portfolios LLC acquired a new position in APA during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Trading Up 3.6%

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.58. The company has a market capitalization of $11.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 13.88 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.29. APA had a return on equity of 19.89% and a net margin of 15.55%.The business had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.79 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 26.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that APA Corporation will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 22nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.06%.

APA Company Profile

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.