Wells Fargo & Company Cuts APA (NASDAQ:APA) Price Target to $23.00

APA (NASDAQ:APA) had its price target cut by Wells Fargo & Company from $25.00 to $23.00 in a report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James cut shares of APA from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $45.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on APA from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of APA from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $32.00 price objective on shares of APA in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of APA from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.25.

APA Price Performance

Shares of APA opened at $20.92 on Wednesday. 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 firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $21.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 3.26. APA has a twelve month low of $17.66 and a twelve month high of $36.05.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) 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. Equities analysts forecast that APA will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.78%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.25%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On APA

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in shares of APA by 22.8% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 65,071 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,503,000 after purchasing an additional 12,077 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in APA by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 47,719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,102,000 after buying an additional 1,010 shares in the last quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft grew its holdings in APA by 175.8% during the 4th quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 23,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $543,000 after buying an additional 14,980 shares during the last quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in APA during the third quarter worth $7,238,000. Finally, PVG Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of APA in the third quarter worth $757,000. 83.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.