APA (NASDAQ:APA) Price Target Raised to $24.00

APA (NASDAQ:APA) had its price objective upped by Royal Bank Of Canada from $23.00 to $24.00 in a research note published on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have a sector perform rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on APA. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded APA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Stephens assumed coverage on APA in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of APA in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on APA from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Cfra Research raised shares of APA to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.16.

APA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ APA opened at $23.24 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.57. APA has a fifty-two week low of $13.58 and a fifty-two week high of $25.83. The company has a market capitalization of $8.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.77, a P/E/G ratio of 6.53 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. APA had a return on equity of 20.98% and a net margin of 10.53%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.17 EPS. Analysts expect that APA will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 22nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.44%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its stake in APA by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 54,298 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,141,000 after acquiring an additional 1,628 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of APA by 61.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 12,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 4,878 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional bought a new stake in shares of APA during the 1st quarter valued at $170,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in shares of APA by 14.5% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 26,137 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,000 after buying an additional 3,306 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in APA by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC now owns 100,148 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,105,000 after buying an additional 1,700 shares during the period. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by 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.