APA (NASDAQ:APA) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday after Piper Sandler lowered their price target on the stock from $29.00 to $28.00. The stock had previously closed at $26.70, but opened at $25.69. Piper Sandler currently has a neutral rating on the stock. APA shares last traded at $25.24, with a volume of 867,606 shares traded.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of APA from $49.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of APA from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 7th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of APA from $35.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of APA from $36.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of APA from $35.00 to $28.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $34.86.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On APA

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APA. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in APA by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,648,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,535,001,000 after buying an additional 2,004,555 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 2,736,041 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in APA by 15.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,358,192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,865,000 after buying an additional 455,312 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its holdings in shares of APA by 4.9% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,757,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,193,000 after purchasing an additional 129,841 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS grew its holdings in shares of APA by 1.1% in the second quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 1,451,439 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,730,000 after purchasing an additional 16,287 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average is $26.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.22 billion, a PE ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 3.23.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $2.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. APA had a net margin of 32.66% and a return on equity of 35.95%. APA’s quarterly revenue was up 41.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.85 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that APA Co. will post 3.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.02%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 22nd. APA’s payout ratio is 11.19%.

About APA

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.