Stephens Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for APA (NASDAQ:APA) Stock

APA (NASDAQ:APA) had its price target upped by analysts at Stephens from $22.00 to $23.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Stephens’ target price would suggest a potential downside of 3.48% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Roth Capital increased their target price on shares of APA from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of APA to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. UBS Group raised 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 Wednesday, October 15th. Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on APA from $28.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on APA from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Three equities research 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $24.11.

APA Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of APA stock opened at $23.83 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $8.53 billion, a PE ratio of 7.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.28 and a beta of 1.12. APA has a 1 year low of $13.58 and a 1 year high of $25.83. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $23.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.36. 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 (NASDAQ:APA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.19. APA had a return on equity of 20.98% and a net margin of 10.53%.The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.00 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that APA will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC increased its position in APA by 33.3% during the 2nd quarter. Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC now owns 400,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,316,000 after purchasing an additional 100,000 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of APA by 98.7% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 51,924 shares of the company’s stock valued at $950,000 after purchasing an additional 25,787 shares in the last quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new position in shares of APA during the first quarter valued at approximately $415,000. CWM LLC increased its holdings in APA by 195.7% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 38,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $701,000 after buying an additional 25,356 shares during the period. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its stake in APA by 1,576.6% in the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 18,979 shares of the company’s stock worth $399,000 after buying an additional 17,847 shares in 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.