Stephens Issues Pessimistic Forecast for APA (NASDAQ:APA) Stock Price

Key Points

• Analysts at Stephens have lowered their price target for APA (NASDAQ: APA) from $24.00 to $22.00, indicating a potential downside of 10.64% from the current price.
• The consensus rating for APA is currently a “Hold”, with four analysts giving it a Buy rating and sixteen rating it Hold.
• APA recently reported earnings of $0.87 per share, surpassing estimates, but revenue decreased by 14.4% year-over-year, highlighting challenges in the market.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) had its target price reduced by stock analysts at Stephens from $24.00 to $22.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Stephens' price target would suggest a potential downside of 10.64% from the company's current price.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on APA from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Cfra Research raised APA to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of APA from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of APA from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of APA from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $24.63.

APA Stock Performance

NASDAQ APA opened at $24.62 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $23.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.75. APA has a 12-month low of $13.58 and a 12-month high of $25.83. The company has a market capitalization of $8.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.23, a P/E/G ratio of 6.38 and a beta of 1.16. 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 (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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. APA had a net margin of 10.53% and a return on equity of 20.98%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.17 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that APA will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of APA during the 3rd quarter valued at $262,000. Lakewood Asset Management LLC raised its position in APA by 2.3% in the third quarter. Lakewood Asset Management LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company's stock valued at $929,000 after purchasing an additional 863 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of APA during the third quarter valued at about $359,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of APA by 160.5% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 336,277 shares of the company's stock worth $8,165,000 after purchasing an additional 892,438 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of APA by 22.9% during the third quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,536 shares of the company's stock worth $547,000 after purchasing an additional 4,203 shares during the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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