APA (NASDAQ:APA) Raised to Buy at StockNews.com

APA (NASDAQ:APA) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Friday.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on APA from $59.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 5th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of APA in a report on Monday. Raymond James reduced their price objective on APA from $44.00 to $43.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on APA from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on APA in a research report on Wednesday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.30.

APA Price Performance

NASDAQ:APA traded down $0.68 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $33.72. The stock had a trading volume of 7,067,072 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,952,502. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. APA has a 52 week low of $29.47 and a 52 week high of $46.15. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $32.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.18 billion, a PE ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 3.27.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.33 by ($0.18). The business had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.07 billion. APA had a return on equity of 62.64% and a net margin of 34.95%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.48 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that APA will post 4.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APA

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Money Concepts Capital Corp raised its stake in shares of APA by 228.6% during the 4th quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 503 shares during the last quarter. American National Bank increased its stake in shares of APA by 208.5% in the 1st quarter. American National Bank now owns 725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of APA by 117.8% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 808 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of APA in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of APA in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

About APA

APA Corporation, an independent energy company, explores for, develops, and produces natural gas, crude oil, and natural gas liquids. It has oil and gas operations in the United States, Egypt, and North Sea. The company also has exploration and appraisal activities in Suriname, as well as holds interests in projects located in Uruguay and internationally.