Sanford C. Bernstein Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for APA (NASDAQ:APA) Stock

APA (NASDAQ:APA) had its price objective boosted by stock analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein from $37.00 to $40.00 in a report released on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has a “market perform” rating on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein’s price objective indicates a potential downside of 1.17% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of APA from $24.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Capital One Financial boosted their target price on shares of APA from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of APA from $29.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of APA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Evercore boosted their price objective on shares of APA from $25.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, APA has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.08.

APA Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:APA traded down $0.44 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $40.47. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 875,946 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,848,111. The firm has a market cap of $14.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.44 and a beta of 0.38. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $38.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.33. APA has a 1 year low of $16.15 and a 1 year high of $45.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. APA had a return on equity of 20.70% and a net margin of 17.38%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.06 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that APA will post 5.2 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at APA

In related news, Director Matthew Regis Bob sold 23,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the director owned 6,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $240,349.82. This trade represents a 77.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On APA

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of APA. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of APA by 1,726.2% in 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 during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in APA by 76.9% during the 4th 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. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in APA by 157.1% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,060,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,970,000 after purchasing an additional 1,869,891 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in APA by 21.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,425,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $255,010,000 after purchasing an additional 1,864,900 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in APA by 13.6% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,030,230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $340,657,000 after purchasing an additional 1,674,739 shares during the period. 83.01% of the stock is currently 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.