APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) Short Interest Down 15.5% in October

APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 16,030,000 shares, a decline of 15.5% from the October 15th total of 18,970,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 6,050,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days. Approximately 4.4% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on APA. Mizuho decreased their price objective on APA from $35.00 to $28.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on APA from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on APA from $39.00 to $33.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Bernstein Bank decreased their price objective on shares of APA from $30.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of APA from $30.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, APA has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.95.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On APA

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APA. Covestor Ltd raised its position in APA by 75.4% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in APA in the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC boosted its holdings in APA by 1,325.0% in the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 1,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 1,590 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank increased its stake in APA by 48.8% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 561 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of APA stock opened at $22.38 on Friday. APA has a fifty-two week low of $21.15 and a fifty-two week high of $37.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. The company has a market cap of $8.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 3.24. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.69.

APA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.47%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 22nd. APA’s payout ratio is 14.12%.

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.