APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Hold" from the eighteen analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have issued a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $25.37.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on APA. Citigroup reduced their price objective on APA from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of APA from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of APA from $25.00 to $19.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "sell" rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of APA in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of APA from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th.

Institutional Trading of APA

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in APA by 3.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 456,922 shares of the company's stock worth $11,176,000 after purchasing an additional 13,557 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of APA by 44.4% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 54,091 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,257,000 after purchasing an additional 16,631 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of APA by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 32,387 shares of the company's stock valued at $748,000 after purchasing an additional 922 shares during the period. Czech National Bank lifted its position in shares of APA by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 80,212 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,852,000 after buying an additional 4,859 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank lifted its position in shares of APA by 355.0% during the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 2,275 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 1,775 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.01% of the company's stock.

APA Stock Performance

APA traded down $0.41 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $17.76. 16,834,839 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,989,184. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.81. APA has a 12 month low of $13.58 and a 12 month high of $33.41. The stock has a market cap of $6.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.23. APA had a return on equity of 27.86% and a net margin of 24.36%. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.17 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.78 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 35.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that APA will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

APA Company Profile

APA Corporation, an independent energy company, explores for, develops, and produces natural gas, crude oil, and natural gas liquids. It has oil and gas operations in the United States, Egypt, and North Sea. The company also has exploration and appraisal activities in Suriname, as well as holds interests in projects located in Uruguay and internationally.