APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-one research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $39.18.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on shares of APA from $37.00 to $30.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $31.00 price target on shares of APA in a research report on Friday, June 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of APA from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of APA from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of APA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th.

APA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ APA opened at $32.01 on Wednesday. APA has a fifty-two week low of $27.17 and a fifty-two week high of $46.15. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.11. The company has a market capitalization of $11.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 3.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. APA had a net margin of 34.04% and a return on equity of 45.32%. APA’s revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.19 EPS. Analysts expect that APA will post 4.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.19%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of APA by 28.9% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 33,246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,193,000 after buying an additional 7,461 shares in the last quarter. Summa Corp. bought a new stake in APA in the 4th quarter valued at $7,571,000. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in APA by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,237,787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,412,000 after acquiring an additional 38,505 shares during the last quarter. Wealthquest Corp increased its holdings in APA by 21.7% in the 4th quarter. Wealthquest Corp now owns 154,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,533,000 after acquiring an additional 27,513 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in APA by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,841,956 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,093,000 after acquiring an additional 345,192 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

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.