Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of APA Put Options (NASDAQ:APA)

APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) saw unusually large options trading on Monday. Investors bought 41,917 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 95% compared to the average daily volume of 21,493 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

APA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on shares of APA from $37.00 to $30.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on APA from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on APA from $52.00 to $48.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on APA from $26.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of APA from $30.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On APA

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of APA by 75.4% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 470 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its position in APA by 386.7% in the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,358 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,079 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in shares of APA during the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. Huntington National Bank grew its position in shares of APA by 48.8% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 561 shares during the period. Finally, GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC increased its stake in shares of APA by 1,325.0% in the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 1,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,590 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:APA opened at $21.87 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.34. The firm has a market cap of $8.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 3.24. APA has a fifty-two week low of $21.15 and a fifty-two week high of $38.27.

APA Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.57%. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.12%.

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.