APA (NASDAQ:APA) Given New $22.00 Price Target at The Goldman Sachs Group

APA (NASDAQ:APA) had its price objective lowered by The Goldman Sachs Group from $25.00 to $22.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a sell rating on the stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Barclays dropped their price target on APA from $30.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on APA from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on APA from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on APA from $52.00 to $48.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on APA from $39.00 to $33.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.00.

APA Stock Performance

APA stock opened at $23.42 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.85. APA has a twelve month low of $20.32 and a twelve month high of $36.04. The firm has a market cap of $8.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 3.19.

APA Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other APA news, Director Juliet S. Ellis bought 4,391 shares of APA stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $22.78 per share, for a total transaction of $100,026.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $283,292.08. This trade represents a 54.58 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On APA

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Harris Associates L P raised its holdings in shares of APA by 20.8% in the 3rd quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 24,914,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $609,414,000 after buying an additional 4,293,932 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of APA by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 30,471,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $745,341,000 after buying an additional 3,411,270 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of APA by 131.7% in 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 during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its holdings in shares of APA by 3,450.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 985,907 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,115,000 after buying an additional 958,141 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of APA by 112.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,448,935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,092,000 after buying an additional 767,557 shares during the period. 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.