APA (NASDAQ:APA) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of APA (NASDAQ:APA) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on APA. Raymond James dropped their price target on shares of APA from $44.00 to $43.00 and set a strong-buy rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of APA from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of APA from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Barclays started coverage on shares of APA in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an equal weight rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of APA from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a positive rating in a research report on Monday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, six have issued 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 target price of $42.25.

APA Stock Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ:APA opened at $32.36 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. APA has a one year low of $29.47 and a one year high of $46.15. The company has a market cap of $9.74 billion, a PE ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 3.27.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.33 by ($0.18). The business had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. APA had a return on equity of 62.64% and a net margin of 34.95%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.48 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that APA will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.09%. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.78%.

Institutional Trading of APA

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. American National Bank grew its stake in shares of APA by 208.5% in the 1st quarter. American National Bank now owns 725 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in APA during the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Quent Capital LLC grew its position in APA by 64.0% during the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 961 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 375 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in APA during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in APA during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

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.