Morgan Stanley Reaffirms “Underweight” Rating for APA (NASDAQ:APA)

Morgan Stanley reaffirmed their underweight rating on shares of APA (NASDAQ:APA) in a research note released on Monday, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has a $28.00 price target on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on APA. Johnson Rice lowered shares of APA from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, January 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a sector perform rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of APA in a report on Monday, April 8th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of APA from $59.00 to $53.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 5th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of APA from $36.00 to $34.00 and set an underperform rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of APA from $53.00 to $50.00 and set a positive rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, APA currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $41.80.

APA Stock Performance

Shares of APA stock opened at $32.26 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.73. APA has a 52 week low of $29.47 and a 52 week high of $46.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The company has a market cap of $9.71 billion, a PE ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 3.27.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by ($0.18). APA had a net margin of 34.95% and a return on equity of 62.64%. The business had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.48 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that APA will post 4.6 EPS for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.10%. APA’s payout ratio is currently 10.78%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC bought a new stake in APA in the 1st quarter valued at about $295,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its position in APA by 3,173.6% in the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 17,088 shares of the company’s stock valued at $706,000 after purchasing an additional 16,566 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in APA in the 1st quarter valued at about $145,000. Raymond James Trust N.A. bought a new stake in APA in the 1st quarter valued at about $328,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in APA by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,362,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,324,000 after purchasing an additional 29,907 shares during the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by 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.