APA (NASDAQ:APA) Price Target Raised to $43.00

APA (NASDAQ:APA) had its target price increased by Morgan Stanley from $41.00 to $43.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an underweight rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on APA. KeyCorp set a $46.00 target price on shares of APA in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of APA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 22nd. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of APA from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $49.00 price objective on shares of APA in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of APA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $44.38.

APA Trading Up 4.1%

Shares of APA stock opened at $49.15 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.24. APA has a 12-month low of $21.63 and a 12-month high of $49.26. 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 quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.90 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. APA had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 24.84%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.87 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that APA will post 6.00 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Dividend Announcement

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 $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. APA’s payout ratio is currently 21.14%.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On APA

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in APA. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of APA in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,173,231,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in APA by 1,726.2% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,834,502 shares of the company’s stock worth $205,176,000 after acquiring an additional 4,569,779 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in APA in the second quarter worth about $134,558,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its position in APA by 240.5% in the second quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 2,662,794 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,727,000 after acquiring an additional 1,880,674 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in APA by 55.0% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,154,301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $176,309,000 after acquiring an additional 1,473,626 shares during the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About APA

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’s activities include identifying prospective resources, drilling and completing wells, and managing producing assets across multiple international markets.

APA’s operations have historically been concentrated in the Permian Basin of the United States and in Egypt’s Western Desert, where it participates in exploration and production activities through joint ventures.