APA (NASDAQ:APA) Given New $47.00 Price Target at Stephens

APA (NASDAQ:APA) had its price objective raised by stock analysts at Stephens from $43.00 to $47.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. Stephens’ price objective suggests a potential upside of 23.41% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on APA from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Wolfe Research lifted their target price on shares of APA from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of APA from $21.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of APA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of APA from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.04.

APA Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:APA traded up $0.08 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $38.08. The stock had a trading volume of 394,104 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,441,537. APA has a one year low of $17.74 and a one year high of $45.66. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $38.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a market capitalization of $13.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.86 and a beta of 0.33.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.13 billion. APA had a return on equity of 20.70% and a net margin of 17.38%.The firm’s revenue was down 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.06 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that APA will post 5.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Matthew Regis Bob sold 23,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.23, for a total transaction of $833,290.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $240,349.82. This trade represents a 77.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Mark D. Maddox sold 9,800 shares of APA stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.04, for a total transaction of $392,392.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 66,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,675,072.40. This trade represents a 12.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On APA

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of APA. Altshuler Shaham Ltd increased its holdings in shares of APA by 36.7% in the 1st quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 1,229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake in APA by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 106,667 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,609,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in APA by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 28,171 shares of the company’s stock worth $689,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares during the last quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC boosted its holdings in APA by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 14,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $358,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management increased its stake in APA by 520.8% in the first quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 596 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.