APA (NASDAQ:APA) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• APA shares gapped down premarket after Citigroup cut its price target from $45 to $40 while keeping a neutral rating; the stock opened at $34.62 after closing at $37.90 and last traded near $33.64 on about 1.96 million shares.
• Analyst views are mixed — several firms (Raymond James, RBC, Wolfe, Wells Fargo, Bernstein) have raised price targets recently, but the consensus rating is Hold with a consensus price target of $38.69.
• Key fundamentals: market cap ~$12.01 billion, PE ~8.5, the company reported an EPS beat for the quarter, and it declared a $0.25 quarterly dividend (annualized yield ~2.9%; ex-dividend April 22).

APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Friday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $45.00 to $40.00. The stock had previously closed at $37.90, but opened at $34.62. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. APA shares last traded at $33.6420, with a volume of 1,956,132 shares trading hands.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on APA. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on APA from $21.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on APA from $31.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on APA from $25.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on APA from $29.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research lifted their price objective on APA from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $38.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other APA news, Director Matthew Regis Bob sold 23,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.23, for a total transaction of $833,290.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,634 shares in the company, valued at $240,349.82. This trade represents a 77.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On APA

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its position in APA by 276.7% during the third quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,213 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 891 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of APA by 115.1% in the fourth quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 710 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new position in shares of APA in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Camelot Portfolios LLC purchased a new position in shares of APA in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 977 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.01% of the company's stock.

APA Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $12.01 billion, a PE ratio of 8.51 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $34.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share. Analysts expect that APA Corporation will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 22nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. APA's payout ratio is currently 25.06%.

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.

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