APA (NASDAQ:APA) Rating Reiterated by Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley reaffirmed their underweight rating on shares of APA (NASDAQ:APA) in a research note released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has a $28.00 target price on the stock.

APA has been the subject of several other reports. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of APA in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an equal weight rating and a $40.00 price objective for the company. Johnson Rice cut shares of APA from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of APA from $59.00 to $53.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on shares of APA from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Scotiabank restated a sector perform rating and set a $37.00 price objective (down from $43.00) on shares of APA in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $41.80.

APA Stock Performance

NASDAQ:APA opened at $32.43 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $32.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The company has a market cap of $9.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 3.27. APA has a twelve month low of $29.47 and a twelve month high of $46.15.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.33 by ($0.18). The business had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.07 billion. APA had a return on equity of 62.64% and a net margin of 34.95%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.48 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that APA will post 4.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.78%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. American National Bank lifted its stake in APA by 208.5% in the first quarter. American National Bank now owns 725 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in APA by 117.8% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 808 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in APA in the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Quent Capital LLC lifted its stake in APA by 64.0% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 961 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in APA in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.