Apache Co. (NYSE:APA) has earned an “A-” credit rating from analysts at Morningstar. The firm’s “A-” rating indicates that the company is a low default risk. They also gave their stock a three star rating.

Apache (NYSE:APA) traded down 2.84% during trading on Monday, reaching $38.26. 3,250,409 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged. The company’s market capitalization is $14.46 billion. Apache has a 52-week low of $32.20 and a 52-week high of $71.87. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $41.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.95.

Apache (NYSE:APA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The energy company reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of ($0.38) by $0.33. The company earned $1.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 56.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.38 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Apache will post ($0.69) earnings per share for the current year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, January 22nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This is an increase from Apache’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 20th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.54%.

A number of large investors recently bought and sold shares of APA. MUFG Americas raised its stake in Apache by 16.0% in the third quarter. MUFG Americas now owns 7,309 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 1,010 shares during the period. Park National raised its stake in Apache by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Park National now owns 17,501 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $778,000 after buying an additional 1,050 shares during the period. Finally, Meag Munich Ergo Kapitalanlagegesellschaft bought a new stake in Apache during the third quarter valued at $5,046,000.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on APA. Zacks Investment Research cut shares of Apache from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 2nd. Simmons raised shares of Apache from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. RBC Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $62.00 price target (up from $60.00) on shares of Apache in a research note on Tuesday, November 10th. KLR Group decreased their price target on shares of Apache from $84.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Vetr cut shares of Apache from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $49.50 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, December 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Apache has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $57.37.

Apache Corporation (NYSE:APA) is an independent energy company, which explores for, develops, and produces natural gas, crude oil, and natural gas liquids. As of December 31, 2014, Apache had exploration and production interests in five countries: the United States, Canada, Egypt, Australia and the United Kingdom. During the year ended December 31, 2014, it participated in drilling 1,478 gross wells, with 1,407 (95%) completed as producers. As of December 31, 2013, in addition to its completed wells, several wells had not reached completion: 318 gross (214.7 net) in the United States; 27 gross (19.0 net) in Canada; 35 gross (32.5 net) in Egypt, and 3 gross (2.2 net) in the North Sea. The Company’s operations in United States and Canada are constituted under its North America business, while its International business constitutes its operations in Egypt, Australia and the United Kingdom in the North Sea.

12 Month Chart for NYSE:APA

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