Investors Purchase High Volume of APA Call Options (NASDAQ:APA)

APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Investors acquired 21,526 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 85% compared to the typical daily volume of 11,614 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of APA in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Roth Capital upped their price objective on APA from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Scotiabank raised their target price on APA from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $31.00 price objective on shares of APA in a report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on APA from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.90.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APA

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its holdings in APA by 276.7% in the 3rd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 891 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new stake in APA during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Spire Wealth Management grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 977 shares during the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. acquired a new stake in shares of APA in the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC lifted its position in shares of APA by 6,096.7% during 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:APA traded up $1.11 on Wednesday, reaching $26.56. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,531,311 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,757,594. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.36. The company has a market cap of $9.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.39, a PEG ratio of 6.77 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. APA has a 52-week low of $13.58 and a 52-week high of $26.66.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.19. APA had a net margin of 15.49% and a return on equity of 19.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.00 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that APA will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 22nd were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.04%.

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.