APA (NASDAQ:APA) Given New $20.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) had its price target trimmed by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $23.00 to $20.00 in a report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on APA. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of APA from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $32.00 price objective on shares of APA in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of APA from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of APA from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of APA from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.90.

APA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ APA opened at $19.04 on Thursday. APA has a twelve month low of $17.66 and a twelve month high of $36.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $6.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 3.26. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $22.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.46.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.18). APA had a net margin of 24.36% and a return on equity of 27.86%. The business had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. As a group, analysts expect that APA will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.25%. APA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.25%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APA

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in APA by 22.8% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 65,071 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,503,000 after purchasing an additional 12,077 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in APA by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 47,719 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,102,000 after purchasing an additional 1,010 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in APA by 4.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,991,513 shares of the company’s stock worth $293,312,000 after purchasing an additional 485,291 shares during the period. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted its position in APA by 175.8% during the fourth quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 23,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $543,000 after purchasing an additional 14,980 shares during the period. Finally, HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in APA during the third quarter worth approximately $7,238,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

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.