APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest fell 13.9% in March to 29,748,050 shares (about 8.5% of the float), leaving a short-interest ratio of 3.2 days based on average volume.
• APA beat quarterly estimates with $0.91 EPS (vs. $0.62 expected) and $1.99B in revenue (vs. $1.89B), though revenue declined 26.6% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 (annualized $1.00) with an ex-dividend date of April 22 and a yield of 2.3%.

APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 29,748,050 shares, a decrease of 13.9% from the February 26th total of 34,534,176 shares. Currently, 8.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 9,421,639 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.2 days.

APA Stock Performance

NASDAQ APA opened at $43.74 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock's fifty day moving average is $31.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.96 and a beta of 0.67. APA has a fifty-two week low of $13.58 and a fifty-two week high of $45.66.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.89 billion. APA had a return on equity of 19.89% and a net margin of 15.55%.The company's quarterly revenue was down 26.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that APA will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 22nd. APA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at APA

In other 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 transaction of $833,290.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,634 shares of the company's stock, valued at $240,349.82. This represents a 77.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APA

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of APA. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its holdings in shares of APA by 276.7% during the 3rd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,213 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 891 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC lifted its holdings in APA by 115.1% in the fourth quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 710 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new position in APA in the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Spire Wealth Management grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 977 shares during the period. Finally, Camelot Portfolios LLC acquired a new stake in APA during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on APA. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on APA from $22.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Scotiabank upgraded APA to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Susquehanna upped their target price on APA from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Wolfe Research increased their target price on APA from $39.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of APA to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $34.58.

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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