APA (NASDAQ:APA) Given New $45.00 Price Target at Raymond James

APA (NASDAQ:APA) had its price target upped by Raymond James from $44.00 to $45.00 in a report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a strong-buy rating on the stock.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of APA from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on APA from $39.00 to $33.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Bernstein Bank cut their target price on APA from $30.00 to $28.00 in a report on Friday, October 18th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of APA from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on APA from $29.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, APA has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.65.

APA Stock Performance

APA stock opened at $23.51 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The company has a market cap of $8.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 3.16. APA has a fifty-two week low of $20.32 and a fifty-two week high of $36.04. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.39.

APA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 22nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.25%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.12%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Juliet S. Ellis bought 4,391 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $22.78 per share, with a total value of $100,026.98. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,436 shares in the company, valued at approximately $283,292.08. This trade represents a 54.58 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Woodstock Corp increased its position in shares of APA by 20.3% during the third quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 308,253 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,540,000 after acquiring an additional 51,993 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of APA by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,991,513 shares of the company’s stock worth $293,312,000 after buying an additional 485,291 shares during the last quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of APA during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $7,238,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in APA by 13.5% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,261,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,852,000 after purchasing an additional 149,762 shares during the period. Finally, PVG Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in APA in the 3rd quarter worth about $757,000. 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.