Barclays Lowers APA (NASDAQ:APA) Price Target to $38.00

APA (NASDAQ:APA) had its price objective decreased by Barclays from $40.00 to $38.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley restated an underweight rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of APA in a report on Monday, April 15th. Scotiabank reaffirmed a sector perform rating and issued a $37.00 target price (down previously from $43.00) on shares of APA in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on APA in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. They set an overweight rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of APA from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a sell rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their target price on APA from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a positive rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $42.05.

APA Price Performance

APA stock traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $29.26. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 9,598,961 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,909,536. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.81 billion, a PE ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 3.29. APA has a fifty-two week low of $28.90 and a fifty-two week high of $46.15. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.89 billion. APA had a return on equity of 50.56% and a net margin of 34.04%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that APA will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. APA’s payout ratio is currently 11.19%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. American National Bank increased its holdings in shares of APA by 208.5% in the 1st quarter. American National Bank now owns 725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in APA during the third quarter valued at $34,000. Quent Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of APA by 64.0% during the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 961 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of APA in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of APA in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

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.