APA (NASDAQ:APA) Given New $34.00 Price Target at The Goldman Sachs Group

APA (NASDAQ:APA) had its price target boosted by stock analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $31.00 to $34.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has a “sell” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective indicates a potential downside of 15.82% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. TD Cowen upgraded APA to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on APA from $31.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Barclays upgraded shares of APA from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $35.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of APA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Wolfe Research boosted their price target on shares of APA from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.92.

APA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ APA traded up $0.24 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $40.39. The company had a trading volume of 1,340,532 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,845,891. APA has a 52 week low of $16.15 and a 52 week high of $45.66. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $38.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.20. The stock has a market cap of $14.27 billion, a PE ratio of 9.41 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.27. APA had a net margin of 17.38% and a return on equity of 20.70%. The business had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.06 earnings per share. APA’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that APA will post 5.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Matthew Regis Bob sold 23,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.23, for a total transaction of $833,290.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $240,349.82. The trade was a 77.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.73% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APA

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hollencrest Capital Management raised its stake in APA by 520.8% during the 1st quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 596 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC acquired a new position in APA in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. 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 acquiring an additional 891 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of APA by 115.1% in the fourth quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 710 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new stake in shares of APA during the third quarter worth about $34,000. 83.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About APA

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.