Short Interest in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) Grows By 26.0%

APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 16,920,000 shares, an increase of 26.0% from the August 31st total of 13,430,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 5,590,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.0 days. Approximately 4.7% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APA

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. American National Bank increased its holdings in APA by 208.5% in the first quarter. American National Bank now owns 725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 470 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings in APA by 386.7% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,079 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in APA during the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC increased its position in APA by 1,325.0% during the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 1,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,590 shares in the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on APA from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of APA from $37.00 to $30.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of APA from $35.00 to $28.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of APA in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $41.00 price target on shares of APA in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, APA currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.38.

APA Price Performance

Shares of APA stock traded up $1.38 on Friday, reaching $24.53. 9,083,760 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,250,758. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $27.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.87. APA has a 1 year low of $22.72 and a 1 year high of $43.58. The company has a market cap of $9.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 3.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $2.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. APA had a net margin of 32.66% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The business’s revenue was up 41.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.85 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that APA will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 22nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.08%. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.19%.

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.