APA (NASDAQ:APA) Hits New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) shares hit a new 52-week high on Monday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $22.00 to $43.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an underweight rating on the stock. APA traded as high as $45.66 and last traded at $44.5680, with a volume of 2495919 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $44.39.

APA has been the topic of several other reports. TD Cowen raised APA to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Benchmark boosted their price target on APA from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on APA from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of APA from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of APA from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.81.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Matthew Regis Bob sold 23,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.23, for a total value of $833,290.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $240,349.82. This represents a 77.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its stake in APA by 276.7% in the 3rd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 891 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC increased its holdings in APA by 115.1% in the 4th quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 710 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new position in APA during the third quarter worth $34,000. Spire Wealth Management lifted its holdings in APA by 179.6% during the third quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 977 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Camelot Portfolios LLC purchased a new position in APA during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. 83.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

APA Trading Down 0.2%

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $30.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.54. The firm has a market cap of $15.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.07 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. Equities analysts expect that APA Corporation will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 22nd. APA’s payout ratio is 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.