APA (NASDAQ:APA) Given New $36.00 Price Target at Scotiabank

Key Points

• Scotiabank raised its price target on APA from $26 to $36 and kept a "sector perform" rating; other analysts also lifted targets, leaving a MarketBeat consensus of "Hold" with an average target of $39.50.
• APA traded around $37.91 (up 0.8%) with a market cap of about $13.4B and a PE ratio of 9.5, sitting between a 12‑month low of $15.20 and high of $45.66.
• The company beat quarterly EPS estimates ($0.91 vs. $0.62) and showed solid margins and ROE, but revenue was down 26.6% year‑over‑year; insiders own 1.3% while institutions hold 83% of the shares.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by investment analysts at Scotiabank from $26.00 to $36.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "sector perform" rating on the stock. Scotiabank's target price indicates a potential downside of 5.03% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on APA. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of APA from $21.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Wolfe Research increased their target price on shares of APA from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of APA from $29.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Benchmark increased their target price on shares of APA from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of APA from $37.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Tuesday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $39.50.

APA Stock Up 0.8%

NASDAQ APA traded up $0.31 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $37.91. 1,371,460 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,143,667. APA has a 12 month low of $15.20 and a 12 month high of $45.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.40 billion, a PE ratio of 9.50 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a 50 day moving average of $35.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.41.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.29. APA had a net margin of 15.55% and a return on equity of 19.89%. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 26.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that APA will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other APA news, Director Matthew Regis Bob sold 23,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.23, for a total transaction of $833,290.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,634 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $240,349.82. This trade represents a 77.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APA

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in APA by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 75,087 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,187,000 after buying an additional 1,528 shares during the period. Fruth Investment Management bought a new position in shares of APA during the 1st quarter valued at about $267,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of APA in the first quarter worth about $212,000. Independent Wealth Network Inc. acquired a new position in shares of APA in the first quarter worth about $313,000. Finally, Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of APA in the first quarter worth about $260,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company's stock.

APA Company Profile

APA Corporation NASDAQ: APA is an independent exploration and production company engaged in the acquisition, development and production of oil and natural gas resources. The company operates through three core regions: the United States, Egypt and the North Sea. Through its integrated approach, APA combines geological and geophysical expertise with technical innovation to identify and develop hydrocarbons in both onshore and offshore settings.

In the United States, APA's largest position is in the Permian Basin of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, where it holds substantial acreage dedicated to oil-focused drilling and production.

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