APA (NASDAQ:APA) Given New $48.00 Price Target at Barclays

Key Points

• Barclays raised its APA price target from $44 to $48 but maintained an “equal weight” rating; the new target implied just 0.18% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $45.31. Of 31 analysts, 12 rate the stock Buy or Strong Buy, 15 Hold, and four Sell.
• APA beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $1.94 EPS and $2.77 billion in revenue; revenue increased 30.9% year over year. The company also authorized a repurchase plan for up to 40 million shares.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) had its price target hoisted by stock analysts at Barclays from $44.00 to $48.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Barclays's price objective suggests a potential upside of 0.18% from the stock's previous close.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of APA from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and set a $41.00 target price on shares of APA in a report on Sunday, October 11th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of APA from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of APA from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Stephens upped their price target on shares of APA from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, November 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $45.31.

APA Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ APA traded up $0.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $47.91. The stock had a trading volume of 272,102 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,582,878. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a 50 day moving average of $46.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.48. APA has a twelve month low of $23.06 and a twelve month high of $52.96. The firm has a market cap of $16.09 billion, a PE ratio of 7.78, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.29.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.34. APA had a net margin of 23.08% and a return on equity of 28.34%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.48 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.93 EPS. APA's quarterly revenue was up 30.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that APA will post 6.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, September 16th that allows the company to buy back 40,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Share repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in APA. Two Sigma Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of APA during the second quarter worth about $835,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new position in shares of APA during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,468,000. Core Capital Management & Research inc. acquired a new position in shares of APA during the 2nd quarter worth about $5,800,000. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in APA by 30.3% in the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 276,070 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,992,000 after buying an additional 64,266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Madison Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in APA in the 2nd quarter valued at about $10,703,000. 83.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About APA

APA Corporation is an independent energy company that explores for, develops and produces crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its activities include operating wells and related infrastructure, as well as evaluating and developing oil and natural gas resources. The company's principal operating areas include the United States and Egypt. APA also has offshore exploration interests in Suriname, where it has worked with partners to assess resources in the region. APA traces its history to Apache Corporation, founded in 1954.

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