Stephens Begins Coverage on APA (NASDAQ:APA)

Equities research analysts at Stephens started coverage on shares of APA (NASDAQ:APA) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage set an “equal weight” rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. Stephens’ target price indicates a potential upside of 32.89% from the company’s current price.

APA has been the topic of several other research reports. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of APA from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of APA from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $19.00 price target (up previously from $18.00) on shares of APA in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on APA from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on APA from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, APA presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.53.

APA Price Performance

APA stock opened at $18.06 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market cap of $6.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.50, a PEG ratio of 6.07 and a beta of 1.23. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.16. APA has a 12-month low of $13.58 and a 12-month high of $29.88.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. APA had a return on equity of 23.22% and a net margin of 9.75%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.17 EPS. On average, analysts expect that APA will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APA. Prospera Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in APA in the second quarter worth approximately $218,000. AE Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of APA in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $343,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of APA in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $81,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of APA by 29.3% in the 2nd quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 33,154 shares of the company’s stock valued at $606,000 after purchasing an additional 7,519 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marco Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of APA by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Marco Investment Management LLC now owns 55,573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,016,000 after purchasing an additional 662 shares during the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

APA Company Profile

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.