Brokerages Set APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) Target Price at $30.65

APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the nineteen research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have given a hold recommendation, four have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $30.65.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on APA. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of APA from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $42.00 to $25.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of APA from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of APA in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James raised their price objective on APA from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Bernstein Bank dropped their target price on APA from $30.00 to $28.00 in a report on Friday, October 18th.

APA Stock Down 2.5 %

NASDAQ:APA opened at $21.64 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $8.01 billion, a PE ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 3.15. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.84. 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 has a 52-week low of $20.32 and a 52-week high of $36.04.

APA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors 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 yield of 4.62%. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Juliet S. Ellis acquired 4,391 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $22.78 per share, for a total transaction of $100,026.98. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $283,292.08. This represents a 54.58 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APA

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of APA. Harris Associates L P grew its position in shares of APA by 20.8% during the 3rd quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 24,914,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $609,414,000 after purchasing an additional 4,293,932 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its position in APA by 12.6% during the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 30,471,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $745,341,000 after buying an additional 3,411,270 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in APA by 3,450.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 985,907 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,115,000 after acquiring an additional 958,141 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in APA by 29.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,092,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,500,000 after acquiring an additional 929,770 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in APA by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,886,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $297,540,000 after acquiring an additional 894,574 shares in the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About APA

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.