APA (NASDAQ:APA) Price Target Raised to $44.00

Key Points

• Barclays raised its APA price target from $40 to $44 while maintaining an “equal weight” rating; the new target was 1.72% below the stock’s prior close.
• APA reported quarterly EPS of $1.94 and revenue of $2.77 billion, beating analyst estimates of $1.60 and $2.48 billion, respectively. Revenue rose 30.9% year over year.
• Analysts’ consensus rating is “Hold,” with an average price target of $44.97. APA also authorized repurchases of up to 40 million shares.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) had its price target lifted by equities researchers at Barclays from $40.00 to $44.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Barclays's target price would indicate a potential downside of 1.72% from the stock's previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on APA in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $62.00 target price on the stock. Scotiabank started coverage on APA in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $44.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on APA from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and set a $41.00 target price on shares of APA in a report on Sunday, October 11th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on APA from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $44.97.

APA Price Performance

Shares of APA stock traded up $0.28 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $44.77. 4,103,248 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,605,860. APA has a fifty-two week low of $22.81 and a fifty-two week high of $52.96. The company has a market cap of $15.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.29. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.48 billion. APA had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 24.84%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 30.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.93 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that APA will post 6.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, September 16th that permits the company to buy back 40,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Share buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of APA

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of APA by 6.7% during the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 394,665 shares of the company's stock worth $16,394,000 after purchasing an additional 24,919 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH boosted its stake in shares of APA by 1,094.6% in the third quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 112,301 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,665,000 after buying an additional 102,900 shares during the period. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of APA in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. D Orazio & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in APA during the third quarter worth approximately $307,000. Finally, New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its position in APA by 12.1% during the third quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 54,475 shares of the company's stock worth $2,263,000 after buying an additional 5,897 shares in the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key APA News

Here are the key news stories impacting APA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: APA reported third-quarter earnings of $1.94 per share, ahead of the $1.60 analyst consensus, while revenue of $2.77 billion beat estimates of $2.48 billion and increased 30.9% year over year. The earnings and revenue beats provide a fundamental positive catalyst. APA Q3 earnings results
• Positive Sentiment: Stephens raised its price target to $51 from $49, implying about 14% upside from the cited share price. However, it maintained an “equal weight” rating, signaling a measured rather than bullish reassessment. Stephens price target update

APA Company Profile

APA Corporation is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The company's activities include identifying hydrocarbon resources, drilling and completing wells, operating producing properties, and managing related infrastructure.

APA's principal producing areas include the Permian Basin in the United States and Egypt's Western Desert, where it operates through joint ventures with the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation.

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