APA (NASDAQ:APA) Sets New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) reached a new 52-week low on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $17.66 and last traded at $18.54, with a volume of 14014160 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $18.57.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on APA shares. Mizuho reduced their price target on APA from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of APA from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of APA from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of APA from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on APA from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Four 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, APA has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $29.80.

APA Price Performance

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 stock has a market cap of $6.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 3.26. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.79.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last released 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). The company had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. APA had a net margin of 24.36% and a return on equity of 27.86%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that APA Co. will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

APA Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.39%. APA’s payout ratio is presently 44.25%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Juliet S. Ellis acquired 4,391 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $22.78 per share, with a total value of $100,026.98. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 12,436 shares in the company, valued at approximately $283,292.08. This represents a 54.58 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On APA

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in APA by 22.8% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 65,071 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,503,000 after acquiring an additional 12,077 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of APA by 4.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,991,513 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,312,000 after purchasing an additional 485,291 shares in the last quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased its holdings in shares of APA by 175.8% in the fourth quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 23,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $543,000 after purchasing an additional 14,980 shares in the last quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC bought a new position in APA in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $7,238,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in APA by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,261,324 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,852,000 after buying an additional 149,762 shares in the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.