APA (NASDAQ:APA) Price Target Raised to $45.00 at Raymond James

APA (NASDAQ:APA) had its price target raised by Raymond James from $44.00 to $45.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Raymond James currently has a strong-buy rating on the stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of APA from $30.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on APA from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on APA from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on APA from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Bernstein Bank lowered their price objective on shares of APA from $30.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.65.

APA Trading Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ:APA opened at $23.32 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.63 billion, a PE ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 3.16. APA has a 52-week low of $20.32 and a 52-week high of $36.04. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $22.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

APA Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 22nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 22nd. APA’s payout ratio is currently 14.12%.

Insider Activity at APA

In other news, Director Juliet S. Ellis bought 4,391 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,436 shares in the company, valued at $283,292.08. The trade was 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 this link. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On APA

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Empirical Finance LLC increased its position in shares of APA by 1.6% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 31,272 shares of the company’s stock worth $765,000 after acquiring an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in APA by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in APA by 1.1% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 46,603 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,372,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the period. Segment Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of APA by 1.0% during the third quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 54,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,330,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of APA by 84.1% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.