APA (NASDAQ:APA) Stock Price Up 4.4% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• APA Corporation's stock surged by 4.4% during trading, reaching a current price of $23.92, although trading volume was significantly lower than average.
• The company reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.87 for the recent quarter, exceeding estimates and showing a 14.4% decrease in revenue year-over-year.
• APA announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25, which will yield 4.0% annually, reaffirming their commitment to return value to shareholders.

APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) was up 4.4% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $23.95 and last traded at $23.92. Approximately 1,245,967 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 7,838,544 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.91.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on APA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of APA from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Roth Capital downgraded APA from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $22.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of APA to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of APA from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of APA from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $23.78.

APA Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $20.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.07. The company has a market capitalization of $8.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.85, a PEG ratio of 6.82 and a beta of 1.29.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.17 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that APA Corporation will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current 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 $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. APA's dividend payout ratio is 33.44%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On APA

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of APA. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of APA by 21.4% in the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 26,540 shares of the company's stock valued at $485,000 after purchasing an additional 4,671 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in APA by 390.3% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 71,096 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,301,000 after buying an additional 56,596 shares in the last quarter. Marex Group plc bought a new position in APA during the 2nd quarter worth $382,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of APA during the second quarter worth $202,000. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of APA in the second quarter valued at about $1,444,000. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.