APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nineteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have given a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $29.80.

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial dropped their price target on APA from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded APA from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $25.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of APA from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $32.00 price objective on shares of APA in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of APA from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Juliet S. Ellis acquired 4,391 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $22.78 per share, with a total value of $100,026.98. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 12,436 shares in the company, valued at approximately $283,292.08. This trade represents a 54.58 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its position in APA by 1,087.9% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,077 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of APA by 84.1% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co increased its stake in shares of APA by 5,718.2% in the fourth quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 1,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 1,258 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings in APA by 77.9% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 1,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 586 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in APA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

APA Stock Performance

NASDAQ APA opened at $18.89 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $6.99 billion, a PE ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 3.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $22.93 and a 200-day moving average of $23.90. APA has a 52-week low of $18.66 and a 52-week high of $36.04.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.18). APA had a return on equity of 27.86% and a net margin of 24.36%. The company had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that APA will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.29%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. APA’s payout ratio is 44.25%.

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.