APA (NASDAQ:APA) Stock Price Target Raised at Barclays

APA (NASDAQ:APA) had its price objective lifted by Barclays from $44.00 to $48.00 in a research report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp set a $46.00 price target on shares of APA in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of APA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of APA from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $43.00 price objective on shares of APA in a research note on Monday, September 7th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of APA from $47.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.31.

APA Stock Performance

NASDAQ:APA opened at $48.44 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $46.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.26 billion, a PE ratio of 7.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. APA has a twelve month low of $23.06 and a twelve month high of $52.96.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.48 billion. APA had a return on equity of 28.34% and a net margin of 23.08%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.93 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that APA will post 6.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, October 22nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.23%.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Plustick Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of APA in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,077,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its stake in shares of APA by 36.9% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 587,549 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,407,000 after buying an additional 158,450 shares during the period. US Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of APA by 47.5% during the third quarter. US Asset Management LLC now owns 9,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $404,000 after acquiring an additional 3,132 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its position in shares of APA by 11.4% during the third quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 349,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,521,000 after acquiring an additional 35,782 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of APA by 33.3% during the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 32,634 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,356,000 after acquiring an additional 8,157 shares during the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

APA Company Profile

APA Corporation is an independent energy company that explores for, develops and produces crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its activities include operating wells and related infrastructure, as well as evaluating and developing oil and natural gas resources. The company’s principal operating areas include the United States and Egypt. APA also has offshore exploration interests in Suriname, where it has worked with partners to assess resources in the region. APA traces its history to Apache Corporation, founded in 1954.