APA (NASDAQ:APA) Stock Price Expected to Rise, The Goldman Sachs Group Analyst Says

APA (NASDAQ:APA) had its price target raised by research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $31.00 to $34.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has a “sell” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective suggests a potential downside of 15.82% from the company’s current price.

APA has been the subject of several other reports. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on APA from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of APA from $26.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on shares of APA from $31.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Evercore lifted their target price on APA from $25.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on APA from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.92.

APA Stock Up 0.6%

NASDAQ APA traded up $0.24 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $40.39. 1,340,532 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,845,891. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. APA has a fifty-two week low of $16.15 and a fifty-two week high of $45.66. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.27 billion, a PE ratio of 9.41 and a beta of 0.38.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.27. APA had a return on equity of 20.70% and a net margin of 17.38%.The company had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.06 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that APA will post 5.2 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 stock was sold at an average price of $36.23, for a total transaction of $833,290.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,634 shares in the company, valued at $240,349.82. This trade represents a 77.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On APA

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in APA. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in APA by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 33,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $700,000 after purchasing an additional 2,070 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of APA by 49.6% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 10,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after buying an additional 3,578 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of APA by 43.3% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,668,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,092,000 after acquiring an additional 806,252 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in shares of APA by 10.6% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 44,833 shares of the company’s stock valued at $942,000 after acquiring an additional 4,297 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in shares of APA in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,199,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

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.