APA (NASDAQ:APA) Shares Down 5.5% – Here’s Why

Shares of APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) traded down 5.5% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $37.61 and last traded at $37.3340. 1,024,689 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 8,175,564 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.49.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays raised APA from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $35.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Susquehanna raised their price target on APA from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Roth Mkm raised their price target on APA from $27.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on APA from $29.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on APA from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Seven research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, APA currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.46.

APA Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $12.93 billion, a PE ratio of 9.17 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $34.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.04.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.29. APA had a return on equity of 19.89% and a net margin of 15.55%.The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.89 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.79 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 26.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that APA Corporation will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 22nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.06%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Matthew Regis Bob sold 23,000 shares of the firm’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 directly owned 6,634 shares in the company, valued at $240,349.82. This trade represents a 77.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of APA. United Capital Management of KS Inc. purchased a new position in APA during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,214,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in APA by 869.7% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 194,418 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,872,000 after acquiring an additional 174,369 shares in the last quarter. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in APA during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,337,000. AE Wealth Management LLC raised its position in APA by 2,049.4% during the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 403,511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,797,000 after acquiring an additional 384,738 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. purchased a new position in APA during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,828,000. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.