The Goldman Sachs Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for APA (NASDAQ:APA) Stock

APA (NASDAQ:APA) had its price objective raised by The Goldman Sachs Group from $23.00 to $29.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has a “sell” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective suggests a potential downside of 8.86% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on APA. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of APA in a research report on Monday, November 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of APA from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of APA from $22.00 to $26.00 in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of APA from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Stephens lifted their price objective on APA from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $29.63.

APA Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of APA opened at $31.82 on Wednesday. APA has a fifty-two week low of $13.58 and a fifty-two week high of $33.78. The business has a 50-day moving average of $27.34 and a 200 day moving average of $25.15. The firm has a market cap of $11.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 16.90 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. APA had a net margin of 15.55% and a return on equity of 19.89%. The company’s revenue was down 26.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that APA will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of APA

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APA. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its holdings in shares of APA by 276.7% in the third quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 891 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC lifted its position in APA by 115.1% in the fourth quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 710 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new stake in shares of APA during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Spire Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of APA by 179.6% in the third quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 977 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Camelot Portfolios LLC bought a new stake in APA during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. 83.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

APA Company Profile

APA Corporation (NASDAQ: APA) is an independent exploration and production company engaged in the acquisition, development and production of oil and natural gas resources. The company operates through three core regions: the United States, Egypt and the North Sea. Through its integrated approach, APA combines geological and geophysical expertise with technical innovation to identify and develop hydrocarbons in both onshore and offshore settings.

In the United States, APA’s largest position is in the Permian Basin of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, where it holds substantial acreage dedicated to oil-focused drilling and production.