APA (NASDAQ:APA) Price Target Raised to $49.00

APA (NASDAQ:APA) had its price target hoisted by analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $47.00 to $49.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “sector perform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 3.61% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on APA. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on APA from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group upped their price target on APA from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Barclays reduced their price objective on APA from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on APA in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Roth Capital set a $39.00 price objective on shares of APA in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.31.

APA Stock Performance

Shares of APA stock traded down $0.08 during trading on Thursday, reaching $47.29. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 775,772 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,662,256. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $43.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.15. The firm has a market cap of $16.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.42. APA has a one year low of $21.63 and a one year high of $48.60.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.90 by ($0.01). APA had a return on equity of 24.84% and a net margin of 19.48%. 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 firm posted $0.87 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that APA will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current year.

APA declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, September 16th that permits the company to buy back 40,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Share buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of APA

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in shares of APA by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 3,206 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd raised its stake in shares of APA by 36.7% during the first quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 1,229 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in APA by 4.3% in the second quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 9,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $321,000 after buying an additional 405 shares during the period. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in APA by 37.9% in the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 1,489 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 409 shares during the period. 83.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About APA

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.