APA (NASDAQ:APA) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $37.02, but opened at $34.73. APA shares last traded at $34.9520, with a volume of 861,407 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on APA. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of APA from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of APA from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of APA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Capital One Financial increased their price objective on shares of APA from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of APA from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.04.

APA Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $11.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.91 and a beta of 0.34. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $38.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.27. APA had a net margin of 17.38% and a return on equity of 20.70%. The company had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.13 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.06 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that APA Corporation will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.31%.

Insider Activity

In other APA news, VP Mark D. Maddox sold 9,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.04, for a total transaction of $392,392.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 66,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,675,072.40. This trade represents a 12.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.73% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On APA

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. United Capital Management of KS Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of APA in the third quarter worth approximately $1,214,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of APA by 57.5% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 306,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,765,000 after acquiring an additional 111,777 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of APA by 71.0% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 185,818 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,437,000 after acquiring an additional 77,125 shares during the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of APA by 49.5% in the third quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 1,578,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,331,000 after acquiring an additional 522,673 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of APA by 604.4% in the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 208,287 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,057,000 after acquiring an additional 178,717 shares during the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

APA Company Profile

APA Corporation (NASDAQ: APA) is an independent exploration and production company engaged in the acquisition, development and production of oil and natural gas resources. The company operates through three core regions: the United States, Egypt and the North Sea. Through its integrated approach, APA combines geological and geophysical expertise with technical innovation to identify and develop hydrocarbons in both onshore and offshore settings.

In the United States, APA’s largest position is in the Permian Basin of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, where it holds substantial acreage dedicated to oil-focused drilling and production.