APA (NASDAQ:APA) Shares Down 4.6% – What’s Next?

APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)’s share price dropped 4.6% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $17.98 and last traded at $17.72. Approximately 823,923 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 7,757,566 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.57.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on APA. UBS Group dropped their price target on APA from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Raymond James raised their target price on APA from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of APA from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $25.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on APA from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on APA from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $29.80.

APA Trading Down 2.2 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 3.26. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.83.

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

APA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.25%.

Insider Activity at APA

In related news, Director Juliet S. Ellis bought 4,391 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $22.78 per share, with a total value of $100,026.98. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 12,436 shares in the company, valued at $283,292.08. This represents a 54.58 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of APA

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of APA in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in APA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,721,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of APA by 459.8% in the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 53,538 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,236,000 after purchasing an additional 43,974 shares in the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in shares of APA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,612,000. Finally, CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of APA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $204,000. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.