APA (NASDAQ:APA) Earns Equal Weight Rating from Analysts at Stephens

Stephens started coverage on shares of APA (NASDAQ:APA) in a research report released on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an equal weight rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock.

APA has been the subject of a number of other reports. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $22.00 price target (up from $14.00) on shares of APA in a report on Friday, July 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of APA from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of APA from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of APA from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of APA from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, APA presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.53.

APA Stock Performance

NASDAQ:APA opened at $19.46 on Tuesday. APA has a 12 month low of $13.58 and a 12 month high of $29.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.04 billion, a PE ratio of 6.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 1.23. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $19.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.13.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.42. APA had a return on equity of 21.46% and a net margin of 10.53%. The business had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.17 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that APA will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 22nd will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.1%. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.97%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APA

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of APA. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in APA by 2.9% during the first quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 36,439,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $765,964,000 after acquiring an additional 1,029,961 shares during the period. Harris Associates L P boosted its position in shares of APA by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 25,708,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $540,393,000 after purchasing an additional 488,530 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of APA by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,932,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $292,871,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046,893 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of APA by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 13,230,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $305,498,000 after purchasing an additional 850,052 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of APA by 46.8% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,080,787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $190,876,000 after purchasing an additional 2,894,543 shares in the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.