APA (NASDAQ:APA) Given New $36.00 Price Target at Scotiabank

APA (NASDAQ:APA) had its target price hoisted by investment analysts at Scotiabank from $26.00 to $36.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “sector perform” rating on the stock. Scotiabank’s price objective would suggest a potential downside of 5.03% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on APA. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of APA in a report on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of APA from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 17th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of APA from $35.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Benchmark increased their price target on shares of APA from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of APA from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $39.50.

APA Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of APA traded up $0.31 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $37.91. The stock had a trading volume of 1,371,460 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,143,667. APA has a fifty-two week low of $15.20 and a fifty-two week high of $45.66. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.41. The firm has a market cap of $13.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.50 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.29. APA had a net margin of 15.55% and a return on equity of 19.89%. The company had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.89 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 26.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that APA will post 4.31 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Matthew Regis Bob sold 23,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.23, for a total value of $833,290.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $240,349.82. This represents a 77.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APA

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its position in APA by 276.7% during the third quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 891 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC raised its position in APA by 115.1% during the fourth quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 710 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new position in APA during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Camelot Portfolios LLC bought a new position in APA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management raised its position in APA by 179.6% during the third quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 977 shares in the last quarter. 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.