APA (NASDAQ:APA) Stock Price Crosses Above 50-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA)’s stock price crossed 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 traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on APA shares. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of APA in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $62.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of APA from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of APA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Benchmark boosted their price target on shares of APA from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Scotiabank began coverage on shares of APA in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $44.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, APA has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.31.

APA Trading Up 1.6%

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 50 day simple moving average of $46.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.59. The firm has a market cap of $16.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.29.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.34. APA had a return on equity of 28.34% and a net margin of 23.08%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.48 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.93 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that APA Corporation will post 6.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

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

APA declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, September 16th that allows the company to repurchase 40,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APA

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in APA. Two Sigma Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of APA in the 2nd quarter valued at about $835,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP purchased a new position in APA in the second quarter worth about $1,468,000. Core Capital Management & Research inc. purchased a new position in APA in the second quarter worth about $5,800,000. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in APA by 30.3% during the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 276,070 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,992,000 after acquiring an additional 64,266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Madison Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in APA during the second quarter worth approximately $10,703,000. 83.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

APA Company Profile

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.