Scotiabank Cuts APA (NASDAQ:APA) Price Target to $14.00

APA (NASDAQ:APA) had its price target trimmed by Scotiabank from $26.00 to $14.00 in a report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a sector perform rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on APA. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of APA from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of APA from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of APA from $24.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and issued a $23.00 price objective on shares of APA in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $22.00 target price on APA and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.58.

APA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ APA opened at $15.04 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $20.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.26. The firm has a market cap of $5.48 billion, a PE ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 2.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. APA has a 1-year low of $13.58 and a 1-year high of $33.88.

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

APA Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.65%. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.25%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On APA

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in APA. Woodstock Corp boosted its position in shares of APA by 10.2% in the first quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 267,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,613,000 after acquiring an additional 24,692 shares during the period. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in APA by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 84,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,786,000 after purchasing an additional 4,759 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in APA by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 694,238 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,593,000 after purchasing an additional 69,519 shares during the period. Investors Research Corp grew its position in shares of APA by 30.0% during the 1st quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 47,357 shares of the company’s stock worth $995,000 after purchasing an additional 10,921 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of APA by 3,303.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 268,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,637,000 after purchasing an additional 260,313 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.