APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eighteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have issued a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $26.21.

Several research firms have commented on APA. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on APA from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on APA from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $20.00 target price on shares of APA and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of APA from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of APA from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd.

APA Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ APA opened at $16.12 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $5.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 2.74. APA has a 12 month low of $13.58 and a 12 month high of $33.41. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.18). APA had a net margin of 24.36% and a return on equity of 27.86%. The company had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. As a group, analysts predict that APA will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.20%. APA’s payout ratio is currently 44.25%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On APA

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of APA by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 113,913 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,630,000 after acquiring an additional 449 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in APA by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 77,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,780,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV increased its position in shares of APA by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 46,063 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,018,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of APA by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 138,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,070,000 after buying an additional 544 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Segment Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of APA by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 54,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,269,000 after buying an additional 571 shares during the period. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.