APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) Receives $28.60 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nineteen brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $28.25.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of APA from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley set a $22.00 target price on APA and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays reduced their price target on APA from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Citigroup cut their target price on APA from $24.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of APA from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th.

APA Trading Down 1.3 %

APA opened at $20.92 on Monday. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $21.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.90. The company has a market capitalization of $7.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 3.26. APA has a 52 week low of $17.66 and a 52 week high of $36.05.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last announced 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). APA had a net margin of 24.36% and a return on equity of 27.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. Analysts forecast that APA will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.78%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.25%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APA

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of APA. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co acquired a new stake in shares of APA in the fourth quarter worth $277,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH acquired a new stake in APA during the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of APA during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,721,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of APA by 459.8% in the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 53,538 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,236,000 after buying an additional 43,974 shares during the period. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of APA in the fourth quarter worth about $2,612,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.