APA (NASDAQ:APA) Shares Up 5.2% - Should You Buy?

APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) rose 5.2% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $15.71 and last traded at $15.66. Approximately 2,408,928 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the average daily volume of 6,757,648 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.89.

Analyst Ratings Changes

APA has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on APA from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on APA from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley set a $20.00 price objective on shares of APA and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Raymond James downgraded shares of APA from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $45.00 to $32.00 in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of APA from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, APA presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $26.21.

APA Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $5.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 2.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $19.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.84.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.18). APA had a return on equity of 27.86% and a net margin of 24.36%. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that APA Co. will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

APA Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. APA's dividend payout ratio is presently 44.25%.

Institutional Trading of APA

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APA. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of APA by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 13,230,751 shares of the company's stock valued at $305,498,000 after buying an additional 850,052 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of APA by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,886,087 shares of the company's stock worth $297,540,000 after purchasing an additional 894,574 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of APA by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,507,956 shares of the company's stock valued at $219,016,000 after purchasing an additional 200,770 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in APA by 33.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,186,244 shares of the company's stock worth $142,823,000 after buying an additional 1,540,055 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in APA by 29.1% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,297,871 shares of the company's stock worth $122,328,000 after buying an additional 1,195,212 shares in the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.