APA (NASDAQ:APA) Trading 5.2% Higher – Time to Buy?

APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) shares shot up 5.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $24.57 and last traded at $25.1320. 1,387,475 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 7,794,312 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.89.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on APA. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of APA in a research report on Tuesday. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of APA from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Roth Capital lifted their target price on shares of APA from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Cfra Research raised APA to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of APA in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.44.

APA Trading Up 2.6%

The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a market cap of $8.70 billion, a PE ratio of 8.22, a P/E/G ratio of 6.28 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.56.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.19. APA had a return on equity of 20.98% and a net margin of 10.53%.The business had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.00 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that APA Corporation will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 22nd. APA’s payout ratio is 24.04%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APA

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its holdings in APA by 276.7% during the 3rd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 891 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of APA by 144.9% during the 2nd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 1,104 shares during the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in shares of APA by 6,096.7% in the 2nd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,859 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 1,829 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new position in shares of APA in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management raised its stake in APA by 179.6% during the 3rd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 977 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

About APA

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.