APA (NASDAQ:APA) Stock Price Up 6.1% - What's Next?

Key Points

• APA rose 6.1% to about $38.86 on Thursday but on light volume (≈2.19M shares vs a 7.17M average), suggesting the move occurred on lower trading activity than usual.
• APA beat quarterly estimates, reporting $0.91 EPS vs $0.62 expected and $1.99B revenue vs $1.89B expected, though revenue was down 26.6% year-over-year.
• Analysts' consensus remains a "Hold" with an average price target of $30.16—well below the current price—and the company pays a $0.25 quarterly dividend (2.6% yield) with ~83% institutional ownership.

APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) rose 6.1% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $38.40 and last traded at $38.8570. Approximately 2,188,114 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 69% from the average daily volume of 7,170,597 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.61.

Analyst Ratings Changes

APA has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of APA from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Capital One Financial lifted their price objective on shares of APA from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of APA from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. TD Cowen raised APA to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Evercore upped their price objective on APA from $21.00 to $25.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, APA has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $30.16.

APA Stock Performance

The firm's 50 day moving average is $28.58 and its 200 day moving average is $25.63. 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 has a market cap of $13.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 15.87 and a beta of 0.67.

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

APA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 22nd. APA's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.06%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On APA

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APA. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its stake in APA by 276.7% in the 3rd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,213 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 891 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC raised 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 last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new stake in shares of APA during the third quarter worth $34,000. Spire Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of APA by 179.6% during the third quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,521 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 977 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Camelot Portfolios LLC acquired a new position in shares of APA in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company's stock.

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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