APA (NASDAQ:APA) Price Target Lowered to $27.00 at Scotiabank

APA (NASDAQ:APA) had its price objective lowered by Scotiabank from $30.00 to $27.00 in a research note released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a sector perform rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on APA. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on APA from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a sell rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 7th. Barclays reduced their target price on APA from $35.00 to $30.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Citigroup reduced their target price on APA from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a sector perform rating and set a $41.00 target price on shares of APA in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their target price on APA from $57.00 to $52.00 and set a positive rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $34.90.

APA Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ APA opened at $27.07 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $26.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.36. APA has a one year low of $22.72 and a one year high of $43.58. The firm has a market cap of $10.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 3.23.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.22. APA had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 32.66%. The firm had revenue of $2.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.85 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 41.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that APA will post 3.97 EPS for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 22nd. APA’s payout ratio is 11.19%.

Institutional Trading of APA

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of APA by 4.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,648,084 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,535,001,000 after acquiring an additional 2,004,555 shares during the period. Wealthquest Corp lifted its stake in shares of APA by 21.7% in the fourth quarter. Wealthquest Corp now owns 154,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,533,000 after acquiring an additional 27,513 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of APA by 18.5% in the first quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 48,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,673,000 after acquiring an additional 7,580 shares during the period. Ellis Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of APA in the second quarter worth approximately $2,499,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in APA by 112.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,448,935 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,092,000 after purchasing an additional 767,557 shares in the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is 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.