APA (NASDAQ:APA) Reaches New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) reached a new 52-week high on Friday after Benchmark raised their price target on the stock from $33.00 to $40.00. Benchmark currently has a buy rating on the stock. APA traded as high as $33.10 and last traded at $33.10, with a volume of 95027 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $32.38.

APA has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $31.00 target price on shares of APA in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on APA from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of APA from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on shares of APA from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of APA from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.92.

Key Headlines Impacting APA

Here are the key news stories impacting APA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Benchmark raised its price target to $40 and maintained a “buy” rating, giving the stock a clear upside narrative that likely supported buying interest. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: APA was featured by an energy strategist as a top upstream pick — the piece highlights APA’s improved cash flow, low valuation (single-digit P/E) and cost reductions, which reinforce a bullish fundamental case. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage in recent days (Susquehanna, BMO and an American Banking News note) has signaled upside expectations and raised price targets, adding momentum to buy-side interest. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Seeking Alpha and other reports highlight APA’s operational efficiencies (cost cuts, strong free cash flow and a multi-year well inventory), supporting a durable cash-generation story that investors reward. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: APA announced a dual listing on Nasdaq Texas, a move that may improve visibility with Texas-focused institutional and retail investors and is being framed positively by management. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: RBC and Piper Sandler both bumped price targets (to $29 and $30 respectively) but kept non‑buy ratings, a mixed signal that tempers the upside from other upgrades. Read More. / Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data reported for early March are inconsistent/zero in the published feeds (likely noisy or delayed data), so there’s no clear short-squeeze signal at present. (Data vendor notices)
• Neutral Sentiment: Legislative chatter (H.R.7554) that would limit greenhouse-gas regulation was noted as potentially favorable for fossil-fuel producers, but its outlook and impact remain speculative and long-term. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Scotiabank cut its FY2027 EPS estimate for APA to $1.50 from $1.65, a downward revision that introduces some earnings-growth risk and may cap upside if other firms follow with cuts. (Research note, Mar 5)

Institutional Trading of APA

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in APA. DGS Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of APA in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $244,000. Compound Planning Inc. raised its holdings in APA by 45.5% during the 4th quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 15,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $371,000 after buying an additional 4,744 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in APA by 212.2% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 416,796 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,195,000 after buying an additional 283,299 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in shares of APA by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 102,471 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,506,000 after buying an additional 12,211 shares during the period. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of APA by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 144,112 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,525,000 after acquiring an additional 15,657 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $26.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.84. The company has a market cap of $11.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.21, a P/E/G ratio of 15.11 and a beta of 0.67.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.89 billion. APA had a net margin of 15.55% and a return on equity of 19.89%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 26.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.79 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that APA Corporation 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, May 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.06%.

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.