APA (NASDAQ:APA) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Truist Financial Analyst Says

Key Points

• Truist Financial raised APA’s price target to $44 from $39 but maintained a “hold” rating, implying about 1.94% downside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with 11 Buy, 16 Hold, and 4 Sell ratings; the consensus rating is “Hold” with an average price target of $43.14.
• APA recently authorized a 40 million-share buyback, while its latest quarterly results narrowly missed estimates, reporting $1.89 in EPS and $2.37 billion in revenue.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by equities researchers at Truist Financial from $39.00 to $44.00 in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "hold" rating on the stock. Truist Financial's price objective would suggest a potential downside of 1.94% from the company's previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on APA. Roth Capital set a $39.00 price objective on shares of APA in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Zacks Research downgraded APA from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Mizuho upgraded APA to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of APA from $44.00 to $41.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Stephens increased their target price on shares of APA from $43.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $43.14.

APA Stock Performance

NASDAQ:APA opened at $44.87 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market cap of $15.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.07. APA has a 52 week low of $21.63 and a 52 week high of $47.44.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.90 by ($0.01). APA had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 24.84%. The business had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.46 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.87 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that APA will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, September 16th that allows the company to buyback 40,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in APA. Core Capital Management & Research inc. acquired a new position in shares of APA in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,800,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in APA by 3.3% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 258,288 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,412,000 after purchasing an additional 8,181 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of APA by 1.9% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 64,862 shares of the company's stock worth $2,113,000 after acquiring an additional 1,179 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of 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, Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new position in shares of APA during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,468,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company's stock.

APA Company Profile

APA Corporation NASDAQ: APA is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The company operates through subsidiaries and manages upstream assets spanning exploration, drilling, production and related field-development activities.

APA's principal producing operations are in the Permian Basin of the United States and in Egypt. The company has also pursued offshore exploration opportunities in Suriname, where it has participated in drilling and appraisal activities in the country's offshore blocks.

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