APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) saw a large growth in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 18,970,000 shares, a growth of 9.2% from the September 30th total of 17,370,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 5,830,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.3 days. Approximately 5.3% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APA

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APA. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in APA by 131.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,813,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,704,000 after buying an additional 2,736,041 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of APA by 4.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,648,084 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,535,001,000 after acquiring an additional 2,004,555 shares during the period. Webs Creek Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of APA in the first quarter valued at $28,593,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of APA by 112.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,448,935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,092,000 after purchasing an additional 767,557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in APA by 15.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,358,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,865,000 after purchasing an additional 455,312 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Stock Up 0.7 %

APA opened at $23.47 on Thursday. APA has a twelve month low of $22.72 and a twelve month high of $40.93. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $25.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.47. The stock has a market cap of $8.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 3.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.22. APA had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 32.66%. The business had revenue of $2.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.85 earnings per share. APA’s revenue for the quarter was up 41.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that APA will post 3.97 earnings per share for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 22nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on APA. Wolfe Research started coverage on APA in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $42.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $41.00 price objective on shares of APA in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on APA from $36.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 18th. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of APA from $52.00 to $48.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of APA from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $34.18.

About APA

APA Corporation, an independent energy company, explores for, develops, and produces natural gas, crude oil, and natural gas liquids. It has oil and gas operations in the United States, Egypt, and North Sea. The company also has exploration and appraisal activities in Suriname, as well as holds interests in projects located in Uruguay and internationally.