APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) Stock Has Average Target Price of $44.38

Key Points

• APA has a consensus “Hold” rating from 31 analysts, with 15 holds, 11 buys, 4 sells and 1 strong buy. The average 12-month price target is $44.38.
• APA shares opened at $49.76, near their 12-month high of $49.85, while the company’s latest quarterly results slightly missed expectations with $1.89 EPS and $2.37 billion in revenue.
• The board authorized a repurchase of up to 40 million shares, and APA declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25, equivalent to a 2.0% annualized yield.

Shares of APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the thirty-one brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, fifteen have issued a hold recommendation, eleven have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $44.38.

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on shares of APA from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of APA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 22nd. Benchmark raised their price objective on shares of APA from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of APA in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $44.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on APA in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $62.00 target price for the company.

APA Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of APA opened at $49.76 on Tuesday. APA has a twelve month low of $21.63 and a twelve month high of $49.85. The company has a market cap of $17.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $43.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.26.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.90 by ($0.01). APA had a return on equity of 24.84% and a net margin of 19.48%. The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.87 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that APA will post 6.00 EPS for the current year.

APA announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, September 16th that allows the company to buy back 40,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

APA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 22nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 22nd. APA's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.14%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On APA

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Hollencrest Capital Management grew its position in APA by 520.8% in the 1st quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 596 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in APA in the first quarter worth $28,000. Compass Financial Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of APA during the second quarter worth $33,000. MidFirst Bank bought a new stake in shares of APA during the second quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of APA during the first quarter worth $44,000. 83.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About APA

APA Corporation is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The company's activities include identifying hydrocarbon resources, drilling and completing wells, operating producing properties, and managing related infrastructure.

APA's principal producing areas include the Permian Basin in the United States and Egypt's Western Desert, where it operates through joint ventures with the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation.

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