APA (NASDAQ:APA) Price Target Raised to $46.00 at Truist Financial

APA (NASDAQ:APA) had its target price upped by Truist Financial from $45.00 to $46.00 in a research note published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on APA. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of APA from $54.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a positive rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of APA from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of APA from $37.00 to $30.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a sector perform rating and issued a $41.00 price objective on shares of APA in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of APA from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, APA presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $38.91.

APA Stock Down 8.0 %

APA stock opened at $28.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $10.61 billion, a PE ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 3.26. APA has a twelve month low of $27.17 and a twelve month high of $46.15. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $29.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.98.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $2.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. APA had a net margin of 32.66% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 41.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.85 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that APA will post 4.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.50%. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.19%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APA

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APA. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in APA by 4.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,648,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,535,001,000 after purchasing an additional 2,004,555 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of APA by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 20,299,538 shares of the company’s stock valued at $728,347,000 after buying an additional 1,938,335 shares during the period. Harris Associates L P boosted its holdings in APA by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 15,705,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $563,520,000 after acquiring an additional 2,367,570 shares during the last quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in APA by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,235,957 shares of the company’s stock valued at $187,866,000 after acquiring an additional 626,460 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 455,312 shares during the period. 83.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.