APA (NASDAQ:APA) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Barclays Analyst Says

APA (NASDAQ:APA) had its price target increased by equities researchers at Barclays from $40.00 to $44.00 in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Barclays‘s price objective points to a potential downside of 1.72% from the company’s current price.

APA has been the topic of a number of other reports. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of APA from $36.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. 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. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on APA from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Seaport Research Partners initiated coverage on APA in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on APA from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $44.97.

APA Price Performance

APA traded up $0.28 on Thursday, hitting $44.77. 4,103,248 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,605,860. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.51, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. APA has a 12 month low of $22.81 and a 12 month high of $52.96. The business has a 50-day moving average of $45.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.89.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.48 billion. APA had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 24.84%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 30.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.93 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that APA will post 6.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, September 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase 40,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of APA

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APA. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of APA by 6.7% during the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 394,665 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,394,000 after buying an additional 24,919 shares in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH boosted its holdings in shares of APA by 1,094.6% during the 3rd quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 112,301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,665,000 after acquiring an additional 102,900 shares in the last quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of APA during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. D Orazio & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of APA during the 3rd quarter valued at $307,000. Finally, New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its position in APA by 12.1% during the 3rd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 54,475 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,263,000 after acquiring an additional 5,897 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting APA

Here are the key news stories impacting APA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: APA reported third-quarter earnings of $1.94 per share, ahead of the $1.60 analyst consensus, while revenue of $2.77 billion beat estimates of $2.48 billion and increased 30.9% year over year. The earnings and revenue beats provide a fundamental positive catalyst. APA Q3 earnings results
• Positive Sentiment: Stephens raised its price target to $51 from $49, implying about 14% upside from the cited share price. However, it maintained an “equal weight” rating, signaling a measured rather than bullish reassessment. Stephens price target update

About APA

APA Corporation 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 hydrocarbon resources, drilling and completing wells, operating producing properties, and managing related infrastructure.

APA’s principal producing areas include the Permian Basin in the United States and Egypt’s Western Desert, where it operates through joint ventures with the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation.