APA (NASDAQ:APA) Cut to “Outperform” at Raymond James

Raymond James cut shares of APA (NASDAQ:APA) from a strong-buy rating to an outperform rating in a research report report published on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $32.00 target price on the stock, down from their prior target price of $45.00.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on APA. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of APA from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of APA in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of APA from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of APA from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of APA from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.15.

APA Stock Performance

APA stock opened at $19.65 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $22.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.46. APA has a twelve month low of $17.66 and a twelve month high of $36.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $7.15 billion, a PE ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 3.26.

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

APA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.09%. APA’s payout ratio is presently 44.25%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On APA

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of APA. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in APA by 5.0% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 52,994 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,296,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in APA by 18.5% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 76,641 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,877,000 after acquiring an additional 11,964 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in APA by 12.2% during the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 17,898 shares of the company’s stock valued at $438,000 after acquiring an additional 1,951 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in APA by 3.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 456,922 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,176,000 after acquiring an additional 13,557 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc lifted its position in APA by 14.6% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 55,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,357,000 after acquiring an additional 7,087 shares during the last quarter. 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.