Short Interest in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) Rises By 9.2%

APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of 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. Currently, 5.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 5,830,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.3 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of APA in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $42.00 price target for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on APA from $37.00 to $30.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on APA from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group cut their price objective on APA from $35.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of APA from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $34.18.

APA Stock Performance

Shares of APA stock opened at $23.47 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 3.23. APA has a fifty-two week low of $22.72 and a fifty-two week high of $40.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $25.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.47.

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

APA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 22nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.26%. APA’s payout ratio is presently 11.19%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of APA. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of APA by 35.3% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,945 shares of the company’s stock valued at $514,000 after buying an additional 3,902 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in APA by 49.0% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 27,769 shares of the company’s stock valued at $955,000 after purchasing an additional 9,133 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its holdings in APA by 15.1% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 113,473 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,901,000 after purchasing an additional 14,900 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of APA by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 744,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,588,000 after purchasing an additional 6,002 shares during the period. Finally, Norden Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of APA during the 1st quarter valued at about $355,000. 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.