APA (NASDAQ:APA) Trading Down 3.1% After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) fell 3.1% during mid-day trading on Monday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $23.00 to $20.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. APA traded as low as $20.29 and last traded at $20.36. 2,355,633 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average session volume of 7,056,188 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.01.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on APA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on APA from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on APA from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Citigroup raised their price objective on APA from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on APA from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of APA from $25.00 to $19.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $24.72.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On APA

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in APA by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 77,110 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,780,000 after buying an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its stake in APA by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 138,991 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,070,000 after acquiring an additional 544 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of APA by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 10,762 shares of the company's stock valued at $248,000 after acquiring an additional 589 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of APA by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 400,409 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,245,000 after acquiring an additional 28,664 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KLCM Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of APA by 19.8% during the fourth quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 696,024 shares of the company's stock worth $16,071,000 after purchasing an additional 115,249 shares during the period. 83.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

APA Trading Up 1.4%

The business has a fifty day moving average of $17.01 and a 200-day moving average of $20.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. The company has a market capitalization of $7.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.25.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.17 billion. APA had a net margin of 24.36% and a return on equity of 27.86%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.78 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 35.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that APA Co. will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.81%. APA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.97%.

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.