APA (NASDAQ:APA) Hits New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $20.09 and last traded at $20.42, with a volume of 18476400 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $22.01.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on APA shares. Citigroup cut their target price on APA from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company cut APA from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $42.00 to $25.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on APA from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Raymond James raised their price target on APA from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of APA in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.65.

APA Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 3.15. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $22.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.10.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.18). The company had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. APA had a net margin of 24.36% and a return on equity of 27.86%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that APA Co. will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.83%. APA’s dividend payout ratio is 44.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at APA

In other news, Director Juliet S. Ellis bought 4,391 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $22.78 per share, for a total transaction of $100,026.98. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 12,436 shares in the company, valued at approximately $283,292.08. This trade represents a 54.58 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APA

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in APA by 22.8% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 65,071 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,503,000 after buying an additional 12,077 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in APA by 4.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,991,513 shares of the company’s stock worth $293,312,000 after buying an additional 485,291 shares in the last quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft grew its position in APA by 175.8% during the fourth quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 23,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $543,000 after buying an additional 14,980 shares in the last quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in APA during the third quarter worth approximately $7,238,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in APA by 13.5% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,261,324 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,852,000 after buying an additional 149,762 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Company Profile

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.