Wells Fargo & Company Downgrades APA (NASDAQ:APA) to Equal Weight

APA (NASDAQ:APA) was downgraded by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. They presently have a $25.00 target price on the stock, down from their prior target price of $42.00. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 19.96% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Susquehanna reduced their target price on APA from $52.00 to $48.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of APA from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of APA from $39.00 to $33.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Bernstein Bank reduced their target price on APA from $30.00 to $28.00 in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on APA from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.14.

APA Stock Down 1.0 %

APA stock opened at $20.84 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $23.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.40. APA has a twelve month low of $20.45 and a twelve month high of $37.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 3.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Insider Transactions at APA

In other news, Director Juliet S. Ellis acquired 4,391 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $22.78 per share, with a total value of $100,026.98. Following the purchase, the director now owns 12,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $283,292.08. This trade represents a 54.58 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On APA

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Woodstock Corp increased its position in APA by 20.3% during the third quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 308,253 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,540,000 after buying an additional 51,993 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in APA by 4.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,991,513 shares of the company’s stock worth $293,312,000 after buying an additional 485,291 shares in the last quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in APA in the 3rd quarter valued at $7,238,000. Ellis Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of APA in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,499,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in APA by 13.5% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,261,324 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,852,000 after purchasing an additional 149,762 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

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.