APA (NASDAQ:APA) Price Target Raised to $50.00

APA (NASDAQ:APA) had its target price upped by Truist Financial from $45.00 to $50.00 in a research note published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a hold rating on the stock.

Several other research firms also recently commented on APA. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on shares of APA in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $62.00 target price on the stock. Seaport Research Partners began coverage on shares of APA in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of APA from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $41.00 price target on shares of APA in a report on Sunday, October 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of APA from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, APA presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.14.

APA Stock Up 3.6%

Shares of APA opened at $46.74 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $46.04 and its 200 day moving average is $38.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. APA has a 12-month low of $23.06 and a 12-month high of $52.96. The company has a market capitalization of $15.69 billion, a PE ratio of 7.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.29.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.34. APA had a return on equity of 28.34% and a net margin of 23.08%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.48 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.93 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that APA will post 6.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio is 16.23%.

APA declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, September 16th that permits the company to repurchase 40,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On APA

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of APA during the 3rd quarter valued at about $11,981,000. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of APA by 2,226.7% in the 3rd quarter. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 4,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,000 after acquiring an additional 4,676 shares during the last quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc purchased a new position in APA in the third quarter worth about $224,000. one8zero8 LLC grew its position in APA by 10.9% in the third quarter. one8zero8 LLC now owns 13,228 shares of the company’s stock worth $549,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in APA by 76.1% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 25,684 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,067,000 after acquiring an additional 11,099 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Company Profile

APA Corporation is an independent energy company that explores for, develops and produces crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its activities include operating wells and related infrastructure, as well as evaluating and developing oil and natural gas resources. The company’s principal operating areas include the United States and Egypt. APA also has offshore exploration interests in Suriname, where it has worked with partners to assess resources in the region. APA traces its history to Apache Corporation, founded in 1954.