APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) saw a large increase in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 18,970,000 shares, an increase of 9.2% from the September 30th total of 17,370,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 5,830,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.3 days. Approximately 5.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on APA. Scotiabank cut their price objective on APA from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup cut their target price on APA from $32.00 to $29.00 in a report on Friday, October 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on APA from $26.00 to $25.00 in a report on Friday, October 18th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on APA in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $42.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on APA from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $34.18.

Institutional Trading of APA

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APA. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in APA by 75.4% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 470 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings in APA by 386.7% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,358 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,079 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in APA during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC increased its holdings in APA by 1,325.0% during 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. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in APA during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $57,000. 83.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

APA Stock Performance

Shares of APA stock opened at $23.60 on Friday. APA has a one year low of $22.72 and a one year high of $40.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 3.23. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.22. APA had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 32.66%. The business had revenue of $2.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.85 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 41.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that APA will post 3.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.19%.

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.