Royal Bank Of Canada Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for APA (NASDAQ:APA) Stock

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada raised its price target for APA stock from $23.00 to $24.00, indicating a potential upside of 9.39% from the stock's last close.
• Analysts have varied opinions on APA, with three rating it a Buy, fifteen a Hold, and two a Sell, reflecting mixed sentiment in the market.
• Despite a 14.4% year-over-year decline in revenue, APA reported stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings, with an EPS of $0.87 compared to the consensus estimate of $0.45.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) had its price target upped by equities research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $23.00 to $24.00 in a report issued on Monday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has a "sector perform" rating on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 9.39% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on APA. Roth Capital downgraded shares of APA from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $22.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of APA in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded APA from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on APA from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of APA in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $23.88.

APA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ APA opened at $21.94 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. APA has a fifty-two week low of $13.58 and a fifty-two week high of $27.22. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $22.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.51. The firm has a market cap of $7.85 billion, a PE ratio of 7.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.31 and a beta of 1.16.

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

Institutional Trading of APA

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in APA. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in APA by 19.6% during the second quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,349 shares of the company's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of APA by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 104,858 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,918,000 after acquiring an additional 612 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. boosted its stake in shares of APA by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 11,497 shares of the company's stock worth $210,000 after acquiring an additional 637 shares in the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of APA by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 44,194 shares of the company's stock worth $808,000 after acquiring an additional 638 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank grew its holdings in shares of APA by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 89,616 shares of the company's stock worth $1,884,000 after acquiring an additional 644 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.01% of the company's stock.

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.

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