APA (NASDAQ:APA) Price Target Raised to $30.00 at Piper Sandler

APA (NASDAQ:APA) had its price target hoisted by Piper Sandler from $23.00 to $30.00 in a report published on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on APA. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of APA from $23.00 to $21.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $31.00 price target on shares of APA in a report on Monday, November 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on APA from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Stephens boosted their price objective on APA from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Johnson Rice upgraded APA from a “hold” rating to an “accumulate” rating and increased their target price for the company from $35.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.92.

APA Price Performance

NASDAQ:APA traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $32.51. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,424,246 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,910,783. APA has a twelve month low of $13.58 and a twelve month high of $33.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.84. The company has a market capitalization of $11.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.15, a PEG ratio of 15.11 and a beta of 0.67.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. APA had a return on equity of 19.89% and a net margin of 15.55%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down 26.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that APA will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 22nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. APA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.06%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APA

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its position in APA by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 28,171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $689,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares during the period. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC boosted its stake in shares of APA by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 14,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $358,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of APA by 0.5% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 94,848 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,303,000 after buying an additional 485 shares during the period. one8zero8 LLC raised its stake in APA by 1.2% during the third quarter. one8zero8 LLC now owns 42,254 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,026,000 after buying an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in APA by 0.5% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 106,734 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,592,000 after buying an additional 517 shares during the period. 83.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting APA

Here are the key news stories impacting APA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Benchmark raised its price target to $40 and maintained a “buy” rating, giving the stock a clear upside narrative that likely supported buying interest. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: APA was featured by an energy strategist as a top upstream pick — the piece highlights APA’s improved cash flow, low valuation (single-digit P/E) and cost reductions, which reinforce a bullish fundamental case. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage in recent days (Susquehanna, BMO and an American Banking News note) has signaled upside expectations and raised price targets, adding momentum to buy-side interest. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Seeking Alpha and other reports highlight APA’s operational efficiencies (cost cuts, strong free cash flow and a multi-year well inventory), supporting a durable cash-generation story that investors reward. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: APA announced a dual listing on Nasdaq Texas, a move that may improve visibility with Texas-focused institutional and retail investors and is being framed positively by management. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: RBC and Piper Sandler both bumped price targets (to $29 and $30 respectively) but kept non‑buy ratings, a mixed signal that tempers the upside from other upgrades. Read More. / Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data reported for early March are inconsistent/zero in the published feeds (likely noisy or delayed data), so there’s no clear short-squeeze signal at present. (Data vendor notices)
• Neutral Sentiment: Legislative chatter (H.R.7554) that would limit greenhouse-gas regulation was noted as potentially favorable for fossil-fuel producers, but its outlook and impact remain speculative and long-term. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Scotiabank cut its FY2027 EPS estimate for APA to $1.50 from $1.65, a downward revision that introduces some earnings-growth risk and may cap upside if other firms follow with cuts. (Research note, Mar 5)

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.