JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts APA (NASDAQ:APA) Price Target to $20.00

APA (NASDAQ:APA) had its price objective cut by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $23.00 to $20.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the stock.

APA has been the topic of a number of other reports. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on APA from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Raymond James lowered APA from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $45.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Monday, March 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on APA from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on APA from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $32.00 price target on shares of APA in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.90.

APA Stock Up 3.0 %

APA opened at $19.61 on Thursday. APA has a twelve month low of $17.66 and a twelve month high of $36.05. The firm has a market cap of $7.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 3.26. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $22.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.18). The business had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. APA had a return on equity of 27.86% and a net margin of 24.36%. Research analysts forecast that APA will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.10%. APA’s payout ratio is currently 44.25%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APA

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co acquired a new position in shares of APA during the 4th quarter worth $277,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of APA in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of APA in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,721,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in APA by 459.8% during the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 53,538 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,236,000 after purchasing an additional 43,974 shares during the period. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in APA during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,612,000. 83.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.