APA (NASDAQ:APA) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $24.92, but opened at $23.97. APA shares last traded at $23.8070, with a volume of 2,674,074 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

APA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised their price target on APA from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of APA in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of APA to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of APA from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Roth Capital boosted their price objective on shares of APA from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, APA currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.05.

APA Trading Down 3.8%

The firm has a market cap of $8.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.03, a PEG ratio of 6.28 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $23.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.19. APA had a return on equity of 20.98% and a net margin of 10.53%.The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.00 earnings per share. APA’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that APA Corporation will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. APA’s dividend payout ratio is 24.04%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On APA

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its position in APA by 276.7% during the third quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 891 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new stake in shares of APA in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Spire Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of APA by 179.6% during the 3rd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 977 shares during the period. Community Bank N.A. purchased a new position in shares of APA during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC grew its stake in APA by 6,096.7% in the 2nd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,859 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,829 shares during the period. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.