Truist Financial Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for APA (NASDAQ:APA) Stock

APA (NASDAQ:APA) had its target price raised by analysts at Truist Financial from $39.00 to $44.00 in a research note issued on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a “hold” rating on the stock. Truist Financial’s price target points to a potential upside of 4.02% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also commented on the stock. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of APA from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Zacks Research lowered shares of APA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Seaport Research Partners initiated coverage on APA in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Susquehanna increased their price objective on APA from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on APA from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.14.

APA Price Performance

Shares of APA stock opened at $42.30 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $40.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.23. APA has a 52 week low of $21.63 and a 52 week high of $47.44. The stock has a market cap of $14.82 billion, a PE ratio of 8.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.37.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. APA had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 24.84%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that APA will post 5.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, September 16th that allows the company to buyback 40,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APA

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of APA. State Street Corp grew its position in APA by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,181,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $820,159,000 after purchasing an additional 377,429 shares during the last quarter. Core Capital Management & Research inc. acquired a new stake in APA during the second quarter worth about $5,800,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in APA by 3.3% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 258,288 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,412,000 after buying an additional 8,181 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in APA by 1.9% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 64,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,113,000 after acquiring an additional 1,179 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in APA by 30.3% during the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 276,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,992,000 after acquiring an additional 64,266 shares during the period. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

APA Company Profile

APA Corporation (NASDAQ: APA) is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The company operates through subsidiaries and manages upstream assets spanning exploration, drilling, production and related field-development activities.

APA’s principal producing operations are in the Permian Basin of the United States and in Egypt. The company has also pursued offshore exploration opportunities in Suriname, where it has participated in drilling and appraisal activities in the country’s offshore blocks.