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

APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty-one brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $38.86.

APA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their price objective on APA from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on APA from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on APA from $54.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on APA from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered APA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th.

APA Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:APA opened at $30.69 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $11.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 3.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. APA has a 12-month low of $27.17 and a 12-month high of $46.15. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.07.

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

APA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. APA’s payout ratio is 11.19%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On APA

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Griffin Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of APA by 0.5% in the second quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 150,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,434,000 after acquiring an additional 790 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of APA by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 16,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $473,000 after purchasing an additional 1,699 shares during the period. Sunpointe LLC raised its stake in shares of APA by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Sunpointe LLC now owns 13,297 shares of the company’s stock worth $391,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of APA by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 95,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,819,000 after purchasing an additional 6,152 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of APA by 29.2% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 644,140 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,963,000 after purchasing an additional 145,695 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Company Profile

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.