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

Key Points

• Scotiabank has raised its price target for APA stock from $22.00 to $26.00, indicating a potential upside of 7.88% from the previous close, while maintaining a "sector perform" rating.
• APA reported earnings per share of $0.87 for its last quarter, significantly exceeding the consensus estimate of $0.45 despite a 14.4% year-over-year revenue decline.
• Institutional investors own 83.01% of APA's stock, with several hedge funds increasing their stakes over recent quarters, indicating confidence in the company's prospects.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) had its price target lifted by research analysts at Scotiabank from $22.00 to $26.00 in a report released on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has a "sector perform" rating on the stock. Scotiabank's target price suggests a potential upside of 7.88% from the company's previous close.

APA has been the topic of several other reports. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of APA from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Cfra Research raised shares of APA to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $28.00 price objective (up from $26.00) on shares of APA in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of APA from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of APA from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $23.47.

APA Stock Performance

APA stock traded down $0.50 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $24.10. The company had a trading volume of 737,840 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,813,677. The firm has a market cap of $8.62 billion, a PE ratio of 8.14, a PEG ratio of 7.21 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. APA has a one year low of $13.58 and a one year high of $27.22. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $22.33 and a 200 day moving average of $19.50.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APA

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its stake in APA by 2.9% in the first quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 36,439,749 shares of the company's stock valued at $765,964,000 after purchasing an additional 1,029,961 shares in the last quarter. Harris Associates L P increased its stake in APA by 1.9% in the first quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 25,708,527 shares of the company's stock valued at $540,393,000 after purchasing an additional 488,530 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased 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 valued at $259,882,000 after purchasing an additional 275,981 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in APA by 46.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,080,787 shares of the company's stock valued at $190,876,000 after purchasing an additional 2,894,543 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in APA by 157.1% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,060,135 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,970,000 after purchasing an additional 1,869,891 shares in the last quarter. 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.

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