APA (NASDAQ:APA) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Zacks Research

APA (NASDAQ:APA) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on APA. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on APA from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on APA from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on APA from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Mizuho upped their price objective on APA from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on APA from $26.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, APA currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.96.

APA Trading Down 2.3%

NASDAQ:APA opened at $36.62 on Tuesday. APA has a twelve month low of $16.88 and a twelve month 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. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $39.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.99. The company has a market cap of $12.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.54 and a beta of 0.38.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.06 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that APA will post 5.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Matthew Regis Bob sold 23,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.23, for a total value of $833,290.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $240,349.82. This represents a 77.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Mark D. Maddox sold 9,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.04, for a total value of $392,392.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 66,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On APA

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APA. United Capital Management of KS Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of APA during the 3rd quarter worth $1,214,000. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of APA during the 3rd quarter worth $2,337,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of APA by 57.5% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 306,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,765,000 after purchasing an additional 111,777 shares in the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of APA by 2,049.4% during the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 403,511 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,797,000 after purchasing an additional 384,738 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of APA by 71.0% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 185,818 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,437,000 after purchasing an additional 77,125 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

About APA

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.