APA (NASDAQ:APA) Price Target Cut to $48.00

APA (NASDAQ:APA) had its price objective cut by investment analysts at Susquehanna from $52.00 to $48.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “positive” rating on the stock. Susquehanna’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 90.78% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of APA in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $42.00 target price for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of APA from $37.00 to $30.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Mizuho cut their price objective on APA from $35.00 to $28.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on APA from $36.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on APA from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $34.18.

APA Stock Performance

Shares of APA opened at $25.16 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. APA has a 52-week low of $22.72 and a 52-week high of $43.58. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.06. The company has a market capitalization of $9.34 billion, a PE ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 3.23.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $2.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.28 billion. APA had a net margin of 32.66% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 41.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.85 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that APA will post 3.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of APA

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in APA by 4.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,648,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,535,001,000 after acquiring an additional 2,004,555 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in APA by 131.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,813,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,704,000 after purchasing an additional 2,736,041 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in APA by 15.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,358,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,865,000 after purchasing an additional 455,312 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management raised its holdings in APA by 4.9% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,757,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,193,000 after buying an additional 129,841 shares during the period. Finally, Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS lifted its position in APA by 1.1% during the second quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 1,451,439 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,730,000 after buying an additional 16,287 shares in the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.