APA (NASDAQ:APA) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Evercore ISI Analyst Says

Key Points

• Evercore ISI has raised its target price for APA from $16.00 to $21.00, indicating a potential downside of 7.98% from the stock's previous close.
• Other analysts have also upgraded their ratings, with Wells Fargo raising their target to $21.00 and Morgan Stanley to $23.00, reflecting a generally positive outlook.
• Despite strong earnings, with an EPS of $0.87 exceeding estimates, APA's revenue has declined 14.4% year-over-year, highlighting potential challenges ahead.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) had its target price lifted by Evercore ISI from $16.00 to $21.00 in a report released on Monday,MarketScreener reports. Evercore ISI's price objective would suggest a potential downside of 7.98% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on APA. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on APA from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Stephens assumed coverage on APA in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $24.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of APA in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of APA from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of APA from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $24.05.

APA Trading Up 4.0%

Shares of APA opened at $22.82 on Monday. APA has a 1 year low of $13.58 and a 1 year high of $26.98. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $8.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.31 and a beta of 1.16.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. APA had a net margin of 10.53% and a return on equity of 20.98%. APA's revenue for the quarter was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.17 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that APA will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On APA

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of APA by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 36,439,749 shares of the company's stock worth $765,964,000 after acquiring an additional 1,029,961 shares during the last quarter. Harris Associates L P raised its position in APA by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 25,708,527 shares of the company's stock worth $540,393,000 after purchasing an additional 488,530 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in APA by 2.0% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,208,961 shares of the company's stock worth $259,882,000 after purchasing an additional 275,981 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of APA by 46.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,080,787 shares of the company's stock valued at $190,876,000 after buying an additional 2,894,543 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of APA by 157.1% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,060,135 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,970,000 after buying an additional 1,869,891 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.01% of the company's stock.

About APA

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.