Stephens Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for APA (NASDAQ:APA) Stock

APA (NASDAQ:APA) had its price target hoisted by stock analysts at Stephens from $23.00 to $24.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Stephens’ price objective would indicate a potential downside of 16.11% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on APA. UBS Group lifted their target price on APA from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of APA to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of APA from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on APA from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Capital One Financial lowered their target price on APA from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $26.39.

APA Price Performance

Shares of APA opened at $28.61 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $25.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.08. APA has a 1-year low of $13.58 and a 1-year high of $28.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.15 billion, a PE ratio of 6.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.50 and a beta of 0.74.

Institutional Trading of APA

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its holdings in APA by 276.7% in the 3rd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 891 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC lifted its position in shares of APA by 115.1% in the fourth quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 710 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of APA by 6,096.7% in the second quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,859 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,829 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new stake in shares of APA during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management raised its stake in APA by 179.6% in the 3rd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 977 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Company Profile

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.