APA (NASDAQ:APA) Given New $21.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Wells Fargo & Company has raised its price target for APA (NASDAQ:APA) from $20.00 to $21.00, indicating a potential upside of 2.49% from the current price.
• Currently, APA has a consensus rating of "Hold" from analysts, with a consensus price target of $23.61.
• Analysts reported mixed performance for APA, with earnings per share of $0.87 this quarter, exceeding expectations, but revenue down 14.4% year-over-year.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) had its target price raised by Wells Fargo & Company from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on APA. Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of APA in a report on Thursday, August 7th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $19.00 price objective (up previously from $18.00) on shares of APA in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on APA from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Cfra Research raised APA to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on APA from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $23.72.

APA Stock Performance

APA stock traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $20.24. The stock had a trading volume of 5,457,211 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,060,074. The firm's fifty day moving average is $19.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.93. The company has a market capitalization of $7.24 billion, a PE ratio of 6.77, a P/E/G ratio of 6.22 and a beta of 1.23. APA has a 52-week low of $13.58 and a 52-week high of $29.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.17 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that APA will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 22nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 22nd. APA's payout ratio is currently 33.44%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On APA

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in APA by 3,303.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 268,194 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,637,000 after purchasing an additional 260,313 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in APA by 14.5% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 26,137 shares of the company's stock valued at $549,000 after purchasing an additional 3,306 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in APA by 11.7% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 207,210 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,378,000 after purchasing an additional 21,630 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in APA by 34.2% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 269,512 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,665,000 after purchasing an additional 68,725 shares during the period. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in APA by 2,709.8% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,433 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,382 shares during the period. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.