APA (NASDAQ:APA) Stock Price Up 4.3%

APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) was up 4.3% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $25.60 and last traded at $25.51. Approximately 2,424,127 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 61% from the average daily volume of 6,239,032 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.46.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on APA from $37.00 to $30.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $41.00 price target on shares of APA in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Mizuho reduced their price target on APA from $35.00 to $28.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on APA from $36.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on APA from $39.00 to $33.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, APA presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.43.

APA Stock Up 4.7 %

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.79. The firm has a market cap of $9.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 3.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.22. APA had a net margin of 32.66% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The company had revenue of $2.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.85 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 41.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that APA Co. will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 22nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 22nd. APA’s payout ratio is currently 11.19%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On APA

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in APA by 131.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,813,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,704,000 after purchasing an additional 2,736,041 shares during the period. Harris Associates L P lifted its stake in APA by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 15,705,693 shares of the company’s stock worth $563,520,000 after purchasing an additional 2,367,570 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in APA by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,648,084 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,535,001,000 after purchasing an additional 2,004,555 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of APA by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 20,299,538 shares of the company’s stock valued at $728,347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,938,335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Webs Creek Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of APA in the first quarter worth about $28,593,000. Hedge funds and other 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.