APA (NASDAQ:APA) Coverage Initiated at Wells Fargo & Company

Equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of APA (NASDAQ:APA) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage set an “overweight” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target points to a potential upside of 69.96% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on APA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on APA from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on APA from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of APA in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on APA from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price target on APA from $44.00 to $43.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.25.

APA Stock Performance

NASDAQ APA opened at $32.36 on Wednesday. APA has a fifty-two week low of $29.47 and a fifty-two week high of $46.15. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $32.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 3.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.33 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.07 billion. APA had a net margin of 34.95% and a return on equity of 62.64%. APA’s quarterly revenue was down 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.48 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that APA will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Harris Associates L P increased its position in shares of APA by 17.8% during the fourth quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 15,705,693 shares of the company’s stock worth $563,520,000 after acquiring an additional 2,367,570 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of APA by 5.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,719,129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,714,656,000 after purchasing an additional 2,003,862 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of APA by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 20,299,538 shares of the company’s stock valued at $728,347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,938,335 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of APA by 130.0% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,534,209 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,037,000 after buying an additional 867,257 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of APA by 1,527.3% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 921,662 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,880,000 after buying an additional 865,026 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.