APA (NASDAQ:APA) Hits New 12-Month Low - Should You Sell?

APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week low on Friday . The stock traded as low as $20.09 and last traded at $20.42, with a volume of 18476400 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $22.01.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on APA. Wells Fargo & Company cut APA from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $42.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Mizuho dropped their target price on APA from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on APA from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of APA from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of APA from $30.00 to $27.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $29.80.

APA Trading Down 1.7 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $6.87 billion, a PE ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 3.26. The company's 50-day moving average price is $22.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24.

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

APA Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.39%. APA's payout ratio is 44.25%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Juliet S. Ellis purchased 4,391 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $22.78 per share, for a total transaction of $100,026.98. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 12,436 shares in the company, valued at $283,292.08. The trade was a 54.58 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in APA. abrdn plc increased its stake in shares of APA by 48.6% during the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 72,994 shares of the company's stock worth $1,810,000 after acquiring an additional 23,881 shares during the period. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of APA during the third quarter worth about $214,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in shares of APA by 5.0% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 52,994 shares of the company's stock worth $1,296,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in APA by 112.9% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 31,465 shares of the company's stock worth $770,000 after buying an additional 16,689 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in APA by 18.5% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 76,641 shares of the company's stock worth $1,877,000 after buying an additional 11,964 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.