Piper Sandler Cuts APA (NASDAQ:APA) Price Target to $23.00

APA (NASDAQ:APA) had its price objective reduced by Piper Sandler from $26.00 to $23.00 in a research note published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on APA from $29.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on APA from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of APA from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of APA from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of APA from $52.00 to $48.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.14.

APA Price Performance

Shares of APA stock opened at $20.48 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.36. The company has a market cap of $7.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 3.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. APA has a twelve month low of $20.32 and a twelve month high of $37.82.

APA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.88%. APA’s payout ratio is 14.12%.

Insider Activity at APA

In other news, Director Juliet S. Ellis bought 4,391 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $22.78 per share, with a total value of $100,026.98. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,436 shares in the company, valued at $283,292.08. This represents a 54.58 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APA

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APA. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its position in APA by 84.1% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings in APA by 386.7% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,358 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,079 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in APA in the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Huntington National Bank raised its stake in APA by 48.8% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 561 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in APA by 164.2% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 1,604 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

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.