APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• APA Corporation has a consensus analyst rating of "Hold" from 30 research firms, with 4 sell, 18 hold, and 8 buy ratings. The average 12-month price target is about $40.85.
• The company reported better-than-expected earnings for the latest quarter, posting EPS of $1.38 versus estimates of $1.11 and revenue of $2.33 billion versus $2.13 billion expected.
• APA also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, equal to a 3.0% annualized yield, while institutional investors continue to hold the majority of the stock.

APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Hold" from the thirty research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eighteen have given a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $40.8462.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on APA shares. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of APA from $26.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Zacks Research lowered shares of APA from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of APA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of APA from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price target on APA from $37.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Mark D. Maddox sold 9,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.04, for a total value of $392,392.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 66,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,675,072.40. This trade represents a 12.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company 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 APA. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in APA by 1,726.2% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,834,502 shares of the company's stock valued at $205,176,000 after purchasing an additional 4,569,779 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in APA by 76.9% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 7,171,963 shares of the company's stock worth $175,426,000 after purchasing an additional 3,117,032 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in APA by 157.1% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,060,135 shares of the company's stock worth $55,970,000 after purchasing an additional 1,869,891 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of APA by 21.8% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,425,586 shares of the company's stock valued at $255,010,000 after purchasing an additional 1,864,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of APA by 55.0% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,154,301 shares of the company's stock valued at $176,309,000 after purchasing an additional 1,473,626 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.01% of the company's stock.

APA Trading Up 0.5%

NASDAQ:APA traded up $0.15 on Friday, hitting $33.44. 3,236,575 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,534,070. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $36.10 and a 200-day moving average of $33.16. The stock has a market cap of $11.82 billion, a PE ratio of 7.79 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. APA has a fifty-two week low of $17.86 and a fifty-two week high of $45.66.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.13 billion. APA had a return on equity of 20.70% and a net margin of 17.38%.The company's revenue for the quarter was down 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.06 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that APA will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 22nd will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. APA's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.31%.

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.

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