APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nineteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $42.20.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of APA in a report on Monday, April 8th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on APA from $59.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 5th. StockNews.com cut APA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Piper Sandler raised their price target on APA from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of APA from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 26th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On APA

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in APA by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 64,406 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,647,000 after acquiring an additional 9,001 shares during the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of APA in the third quarter worth $225,000. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of APA by 4.6% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 643,011 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,428,000 after purchasing an additional 28,102 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of APA during the third quarter valued at $222,000. Finally, Jessup Wealth Management Inc bought a new stake in APA in the 3rd quarter worth about $304,000. 83.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

APA Price Performance

Shares of APA stock opened at $30.88 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. APA has a one year low of $28.90 and a one year high of $46.15. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 3.29.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.89 billion. APA had a return on equity of 45.32% and a net margin of 34.04%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that APA will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

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.