APA (NASDAQ:APA) Shares Climb 3.8% – Here’s What Happened

APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) rose 3.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The stock traded as high as $43.83 and last traded at $43.8880. 1,801,091 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 6,782,713 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.30.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on APA. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and issued a $43.00 target price on shares of APA in a research report on Monday, September 7th. Stephens increased their price target on APA from $43.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Roth Capital set a $39.00 price target on APA in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of APA from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of APA from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, APA presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.14.

APA Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $15.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.37. The business’s fifty day moving average is $40.89 and its 200 day moving average is $38.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. APA had a return on equity of 24.84% and a net margin of 19.48%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that APA Corporation will post 5.8 EPS for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 22nd will be paid 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 2.3%. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.14%.

APA declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, September 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase 40,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APA

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in APA by 9.8% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 3,206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd raised its stake in shares of APA by 36.7% in the first quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 1,229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 330 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of APA by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 106,667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,609,000 after buying an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 396 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Waverly Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of APA by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 9,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $321,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Company Profile

APA Corporation (NASDAQ: APA) is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The company operates through subsidiaries and manages upstream assets spanning exploration, drilling, production and related field-development activities.

APA’s principal producing operations are in the Permian Basin of the United States and in Egypt. The company has also pursued offshore exploration opportunities in Suriname, where it has participated in drilling and appraisal activities in the country’s offshore blocks.