APA (NASDAQ:APA) Stock Price Up 9.5% – Still a Buy?

Shares of APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) were up 9.5% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $25.67 and last traded at $25.6210. Approximately 4,812,907 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 13% from the average daily volume of 5,543,123 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.39.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on APA. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of APA from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on shares of APA from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. William Blair started coverage on APA in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. Wolfe Research dropped their price objective on APA from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on APA from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.64.

APA Stock Up 8.9%

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $24.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.10, a PEG ratio of 9.63 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

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

APA Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.04%.

Institutional Trading of APA

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APA. Howard Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of APA by 0.5% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 94,848 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,303,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. one8zero8 LLC increased its position in APA by 1.2% in the third quarter. one8zero8 LLC now owns 42,254 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,026,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in APA by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 106,734 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,592,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in APA by 19.6% during the 2nd quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,349 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares during the period. Finally, O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. lifted its position in APA by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. now owns 30,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $736,000 after purchasing an additional 555 shares during the period. 83.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About APA

APA Corporation (NASDAQ: APA) is an independent exploration and production company engaged in the acquisition, development and production of oil and natural gas resources. The company operates through three core regions: the United States, Egypt and the North Sea. Through its integrated approach, APA combines geological and geophysical expertise with technical innovation to identify and develop hydrocarbons in both onshore and offshore settings.

In the United States, APA’s largest position is in the Permian Basin of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, where it holds substantial acreage dedicated to oil-focused drilling and production.