Raymond James Financial Reiterates "Outperform" Rating for APA (NASDAQ:APA)

Raymond James Financial reissued their outperform rating on shares of APA (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $26.00 price objective on the stock, up from their prior price objective of $25.00.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on APA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of APA from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Scotiabank reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $22.00 price objective (up previously from $14.00) on shares of APA in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Argus upgraded APA to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of APA from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price target on APA from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, APA presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $23.50.

APA Price Performance

Shares of APA traded down $0.20 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $19.10. 4,358,857 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,752,628. APA has a 1 year low of $13.58 and a 1 year high of $33.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $6.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.30 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $18.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.46.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.23. APA had a net margin of 9.75% and a return on equity of 23.22%. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 35.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that APA will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.24%. APA's payout ratio is 35.97%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On APA

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of APA. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of APA by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,507,956 shares of the company's stock valued at $219,016,000 after purchasing an additional 200,770 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of APA by 3,303.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 268,194 shares of the company's stock worth $5,637,000 after purchasing an additional 260,313 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in APA by 14.5% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 26,137 shares of the company's stock valued at $549,000 after buying an additional 3,306 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in APA by 11.7% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 207,210 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,378,000 after buying an additional 21,630 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of APA by 34.2% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 269,512 shares of the company's stock worth $5,665,000 after purchasing an additional 68,725 shares in the last quarter. 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.