Brokerages Set APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) PT at $41.50

Shares of APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the thirty research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seventeen have given a hold recommendation and nine have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $41.6786.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on APA shares. Susquehanna raised their target price on APA from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings downgraded APA from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, August 31st. Capital One Financial lifted their price objective on APA from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Raymond James Financial upped their target price on APA from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Argus upgraded APA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $48.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th.

APA Stock Performance

NASDAQ APA opened at $42.77 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $14.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.04, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.37. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. APA has a 52 week low of $21.57 and a 52 week high of $45.66.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by ($0.01). APA had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 24.84%. The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.87 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that APA will post 5.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On APA

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of APA. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in APA during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,173,231,000. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of APA by 3,143.3% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 13,395,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $411,290,000 after acquiring an additional 12,982,685 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of APA by 1,726.2% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,834,502 shares of the company’s stock valued at $205,176,000 after acquiring an additional 4,569,779 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in APA during the second quarter worth $134,558,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in APA by 76.9% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 7,171,963 shares of the company’s stock worth $175,426,000 after purchasing an additional 3,117,032 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

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.