APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• APA Corporation has a consensus analyst rating of "Hold" from 30 brokerages, with an average 1-year price target of about $40.12.
• Recent analyst moves were mostly cautious but slightly improved, including price target boosts from UBS, Susquehanna, RBC, and Benchmark, while Barclays upgraded the stock to equal weight.
• APA reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings and revenue, and the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, yielding about 2.6% annually.

Shares of APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the thirty brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $40.1154.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of APA from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Barclays upgraded shares of APA from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $35.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of APA from $37.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of APA from $29.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Benchmark upped their price target on shares of APA from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th.

Insider Transactions at APA

In related news, Director Matthew Regis Bob sold 23,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.23, for a total value of $833,290.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Mark D. Maddox sold 9,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.04, for a total transaction of $392,392.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 66,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,675,072.40. This represents a 12.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.73% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APA

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Arkadios Wealth Advisors grew its position in APA by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 79,048 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,355,000 after buying an additional 2,703 shares in the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd grew its position in APA by 36.7% in the 1st quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 1,229 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Amundi bought a new position in APA in the 1st quarter valued at about $584,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in APA by 27.5% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,482 shares of the company's stock valued at $233,000 after buying an additional 1,181 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empyrean Capital Partners LP bought a new position in APA in the 1st quarter valued at about $6,026,000. Institutional investors own 83.01% of the company's stock.

Key APA News

Here are the key news stories impacting APA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised multiple earnings forecasts for APA, including FY2026, FY2027, and several quarterly estimates, suggesting improved profitability expectations.
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley increased its price target on APA to $44 from $43, indicating slightly better valuation expectations despite the cautious rating. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: APA declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, which may appeal to income-focused investors and support the stock.
• Neutral Sentiment: APA management discussed the company in a shareholder/analyst call transcript, but no major new catalyst was highlighted in the provided excerpt. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: VP Mark D. Maddox sold 9,800 shares, a insider sale that can be viewed cautiously by investors. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: An energy-sector article about Shell divesting Uruguay offshore interests is more relevant to the broader industry than to APA specifically. Article Title

APA Trading Up 1.2%

APA opened at $38.80 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.71 billion, a PE ratio of 9.04 and a beta of 0.38. APA has a 12-month low of $16.25 and a 12-month high of $45.66. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $38.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.13 billion. APA had a net margin of 17.38% and a return on equity of 20.70%. The firm's revenue was down 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.06 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that APA will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 22nd will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 22nd. APA's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.31%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.