APA (NASDAQ:APA) Price Target Raised to $57.00

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial raised APA’s price target from $45 to $57 and kept an outperform rating, implying about 47% upside from the current share price.
• APA’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $1.38 versus the $1.11 consensus and revenue of $2.33 billion topping estimates, though revenue was still down year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed overall: MarketBeat reports a consensus Hold rating and average target of $40.81, while the stock recently traded around $38.78.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) had its target price raised by investment analysts at Raymond James Financial from $45.00 to $57.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has an "outperform" rating on the stock. Raymond James Financial's price objective points to a potential upside of 46.98% from the company's current price.

APA has been the subject of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings raised APA from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on APA from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on shares of APA from $27.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of APA from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of APA from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, APA currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $40.81.

APA Price Performance

APA traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $38.78. 462,053 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,779,803. APA has a 1-year low of $16.75 and a 1-year high of $45.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.70 billion, a PE ratio of 9.04 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The business's 50-day moving average price is $38.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.79.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.27. APA had a net margin of 17.38% and a return on equity of 20.70%. The business had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.13 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.06 EPS. The company's revenue was down 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that APA will post 5.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at APA

In related news, VP Mark D. Maddox sold 9,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.04, for a total value of $392,392.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 66,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,675,072.40. The trade was a 12.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Matthew Regis Bob sold 23,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.23, for a total transaction of $833,290.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,634 shares of the company's stock, valued at $240,349.82. This trade represents a 77.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.73% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APA

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in APA. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of APA by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 16,376,952 shares of the company's stock worth $695,099,000 after buying an additional 1,055,016 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in APA by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,710,034 shares of the company's stock valued at $359,807,000 after acquiring an additional 285,542 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in APA by 21.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,425,586 shares of the company's stock valued at $255,010,000 after acquiring an additional 1,864,900 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in APA by 76.9% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 7,171,963 shares of the company's stock valued at $175,426,000 after acquiring an additional 3,117,032 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in APA by 1,726.2% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,834,502 shares of the company's stock valued at $205,176,000 after acquiring an additional 4,569,779 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company's stock.

About APA

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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