The Goldman Sachs Group Cuts APA (NASDAQ:APA) Price Target to $22.00

APA (NASDAQ:APA) had its price objective decreased by The Goldman Sachs Group from $25.00 to $22.00 in a research note released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a sell rating on the stock.

APA has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on APA from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of APA from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Bernstein Bank cut their price target on APA from $30.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on APA from $39.00 to $33.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded APA from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $42.00 to $25.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.55.

APA Price Performance

APA stock opened at $23.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The company’s 50-day moving average is $22.43 and its 200-day moving average is $25.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.66 billion, a PE ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 3.16. APA has a 1 year low of $20.32 and a 1 year high of $36.04.

APA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 22nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.12%.

Insider Activity at APA

In other APA news, Director Juliet S. Ellis acquired 4,391 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 purchase, the director now owns 12,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $283,292.08. This represents a 54.58 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its holdings in APA by 84.1% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,182 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in shares of APA during the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Huntington National Bank increased its position in APA by 48.8% during the third 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 last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of APA by 164.2% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,581 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 1,604 shares during the period. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in APA in the second quarter worth approximately $76,000. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.