APA’s (APA) “Underweight” Rating Reiterated at Barclays

Barclays reissued their underweight rating on shares of APA (NASDAQ:APA) in a research note released on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on APA. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of APA from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. William Blair started coverage on shares of APA in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of APA in a report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler raised their price target on APA from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price target on APA from $21.00 to $16.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, APA currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.30.

APA Price Performance

Shares of APA stock opened at $25.80 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $25.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.09. APA has a 12 month low of $13.58 and a 12 month high of $27.72. The company has a market capitalization of $9.15 billion, a PE ratio of 6.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.40 and a beta of 0.74.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. APA had a net margin of 15.49% and a return on equity of 19.86%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.00 EPS. Analysts predict that APA will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.04%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APA

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APA. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 891 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of APA by 144.9% during the second quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,866 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 1,104 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new position in shares of APA in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. CVA Family Office LLC raised its stake in APA by 6,096.7% in the 2nd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,859 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,829 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management grew its stake in APA by 179.6% during the 3rd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 977 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting APA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised several near-term EPS forecasts for APA (Q1–Q4 2027 and FY2027 estimates were nudged higher), which can be read as modestly constructive on forward earnings expectations. (Zacks research notes)
• Positive Sentiment: The Goldman Sachs price target was increased to $23 from $21 (rating: sell), a small upward reframe of fair value that could limit downside. Goldman Sachs raises PT to $23
• Positive Sentiment: AmericanBankingNews reported an analyst-implied price-target increase to $22, another incremental supportive datapoint. Price Target Raised to $22
• Neutral Sentiment: Local community event — APA’s “Paws & Pins” fundraiser scheduled for Feb. 20 — is PR/CSR positive but unlikely to move the stock materially. Paws & Pins fundraiser
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary piece outlines how fresh analyst targets are reframing APA’s fair value; useful context for investors but not a direct market mover. Why APA story is shifting
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan cut its price target to $25 (maintained neutral), and that move was reported alongside an intraday share drop — a clear near-term headwind for the stock. JPMorgan lowers PT to $25
• Negative Sentiment: Barclays downgraded APA to an Underweight/“downgrade,” which increases sell-side pressure and may keep the stock capped until clearer operational/commodity signals emerge. Barclays downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks moved the stock from Hold to Strong Sell even while nudging some short-term EPS estimates; the retained negative rating undercuts the constructive EPS revisions. Zacks rating change

APA Company Profile

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.