APA’s (APA) Equal Weight Rating Reiterated at Stephens

APA (NASDAQ:APA)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating reiterated by equities research analysts at Stephens in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $49.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens’ price target points to a potential upside of 7.76% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. KeyCorp set a $46.00 price objective on APA in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on APA in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on APA from $44.00 to $41.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 26th. Barclays cut their price objective on APA from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on APA from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.21.

APA Trading Up 3.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:APA opened at $45.47 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $42.40 and its 200 day moving average is $38.98. APA has a 1 year low of $21.63 and a 1 year high of $47.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.90 by ($0.01). APA had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 24.84%. The business had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.87 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that APA will post 5.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, September 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase 40,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of APA

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of APA. Two Sigma Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of APA in the second quarter valued at approximately $835,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new stake in shares of APA in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,468,000. Core Capital Management & Research inc. acquired a new stake in shares of APA in the second quarter valued at approximately $5,800,000. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of APA by 30.3% in the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 276,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,992,000 after purchasing an additional 64,266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Madison Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of APA in the second quarter valued at approximately $10,703,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Company Profile

APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The company’s activities include identifying prospective resources, drilling and completing wells, and managing producing assets across multiple international markets.

APA’s operations have historically been concentrated in the Permian Basin of the United States and in Egypt’s Western Desert, where it participates in exploration and production activities through joint ventures.