APA (NASDAQ:APA) Hits New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $26.19 and last traded at $26.2880, with a volume of 873911 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.45.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on APA shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of APA from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. William Blair started coverage on shares of APA in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of APA from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Wolfe Research lifted their price objective on APA from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on APA from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.90.

APA Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $9.39 billion, a PE ratio of 6.36, a P/E/G ratio of 6.77 and a beta of 0.75. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $23.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.19. APA had a return on equity of 19.86% and a net margin of 15.49%.The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.00 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that APA Corporation will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 22nd were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 22nd. APA’s payout ratio is presently 24.04%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APA

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its holdings in shares of APA by 276.7% during the 3rd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 891 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of APA by 144.9% in the 2nd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,104 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC lifted its stake in shares of APA by 6,096.7% in the 2nd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,859 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,829 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new stake in shares of APA during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of APA by 179.6% during the 3rd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 977 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.