APA (NASDAQ:APA) Trading 6% Higher - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• APA Corporation's shares increased by 6% to a trading price of $25.79, with a notable decrease in trading volume.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Hold" for APA, with multiple firms raising their price targets, including Raymond James Financial's updated target of $28.00.
• APA announced a dividend of $0.25 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 4.0%, with payments set for November 21st.

APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) shares shot up 6% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $25.53 and last traded at $25.79. 2,321,797 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 7,890,561 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.34.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on APA. Cfra Research raised APA to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of APA from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on APA from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on APA from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $28.00 target price (up previously from $26.00) on shares of APA in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, APA presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $23.78.

APA Trading Up 1.6%

The firm has a market capitalization of $8.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.28, a PEG ratio of 6.96 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $21.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.21.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.42. APA had a return on equity of 20.98% and a net margin of 10.53%.The firm had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.17 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that APA Corporation will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 22nd. APA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.44%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APA

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new stake in shares of APA in the 1st quarter valued at about $415,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its stake in shares of APA by 1,576.6% in the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 18,979 shares of the company's stock valued at $399,000 after purchasing an additional 17,847 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of APA by 3,303.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 268,194 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,637,000 after purchasing an additional 260,313 shares during the period. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of APA during the first quarter worth approximately $14,735,000. Finally, WBI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of APA during the first quarter worth approximately $1,263,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.01% of the company's stock.

APA Company Profile

APA Corporation, an independent energy company, explores for, develops, and produces natural gas, crude oil, and natural gas liquids. It has oil and gas operations in the United States, Egypt, and North Sea. The company also has exploration and appraisal activities in Suriname, as well as holds interests in projects located in Uruguay and internationally.

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