Wells Fargo & Company Has Lowered Expectations for APA (NASDAQ:APA) Stock Price

APA (NASDAQ:APA) had its target price lowered by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $25.00 to $23.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 8.49% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on APA. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $32.00 price target on shares of APA in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of APA from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of APA from $24.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of APA from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of APA from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.20.

APA Stock Up 0.5 %

APA stock opened at $21.20 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 3.26. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. APA has a fifty-two week low of $17.66 and a fifty-two week high of $36.05.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. APA had a return on equity of 27.86% and a net margin of 24.36%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that APA will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APA

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APA. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its position in APA by 12.6% during the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 30,471,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $745,341,000 after buying an additional 3,411,270 shares during the last quarter. Harris Associates L P boosted its stake in shares of APA by 20.8% during the 3rd quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 24,914,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $609,414,000 after acquiring an additional 4,293,932 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of APA by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 13,230,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $305,498,000 after acquiring an additional 850,052 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of APA by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,886,087 shares of the company’s stock worth $297,540,000 after acquiring an additional 894,574 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in APA by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,507,956 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,016,000 after acquiring an additional 200,770 shares during the period. 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.