APA (NASDAQ:APA) Stock Price Breaks Above 50-Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) passed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $46.04 and traded as high as $46.79. APA shares last traded at $46.74, with a volume of 4,024,765 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on APA shares. Seaport Research Partners assumed coverage on shares of APA in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. KeyCorp set a $46.00 target price on shares of APA in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of APA from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Roth Capital set a $39.00 price target on shares of APA in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of APA from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, September 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.14.

APA Stock Up 3.6%

The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.29. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $46.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.37.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.48 billion. APA had a net margin of 23.08% and a return on equity of 28.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.93 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that APA Corporation will post 6.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Dividend Announcement

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

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

Institutional Trading of APA

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of APA. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in APA during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,173,231,000. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of APA by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,181,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $820,159,000 after acquiring an additional 377,429 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of APA by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 16,376,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $695,099,000 after acquiring an additional 1,055,016 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of APA by 1,726.2% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,834,502 shares of the company’s stock valued at $205,176,000 after acquiring an additional 4,569,779 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of APA by 55.0% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,154,301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $176,309,000 after acquiring an additional 1,473,626 shares during the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About APA

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.