APA (NASDAQ:APA) Stock Rating Raised to Hold at Scotiabank

Key Points

• Scotiabank upgraded APA to “Hold”, while the broader analyst consensus remains “Hold,” with 15 Hold, 11 Buy, 4 Sell, and 1 Strong Buy rating; the average price target is $44.38.
• APA shares rose 4.1% to $49.15, near their 52-week high of $49.26. The company also authorized a buyback of up to 40 million shares.
• APA’s latest quarterly results slightly missed expectations, reporting $1.89 in EPS versus a $1.90 consensus and $2.37 billion in revenue versus $2.46 billion expected, though earnings improved from $0.87 per share a year earlier.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Scotiabank to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Zacks reports.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of APA in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $62.00 price target on the stock. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of APA from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Zacks Research raised shares of APA from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. KeyCorp set a $46.00 price objective on shares of APA in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of APA from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. 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 issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $44.38.

APA Stock Up 4.1%

NASDAQ APA traded up $1.92 on Wednesday, reaching $49.15. The stock had a trading volume of 6,325,180 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,669,751. 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 has a 1 year low of $21.63 and a 1 year high of $49.26. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $43.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.24. The company has a market capitalization of $17.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.42.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.90 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. APA had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 24.84%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.87 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that APA will post 6.00 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, September 16th that allows the company to buy back 40,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Share repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in APA. Two Sigma Securities LLC bought a new stake in APA in the second quarter valued at $835,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new position in shares of APA during the second quarter valued at $1,468,000. Core Capital Management & Research inc. bought a new position in shares of APA during the second quarter valued at $5,800,000. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of APA by 30.3% during the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 276,070 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,992,000 after acquiring an additional 64,266 shares during the period. Finally, Madison Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of APA in the 2nd quarter valued at $10,703,000. Institutional investors 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's activities include identifying prospective resources, drilling and completing wells, and managing producing assets across multiple international markets.

APA's operations have historically been concentrated in the Permian Basin of the United States and in Egypt's Western Desert, where it participates in exploration and production activities through joint ventures.

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