Brokerages Set APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) PT at $42.05

APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the nineteen research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $42.20.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on APA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on APA from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Roth Mkm raised their price target on shares of APA from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of APA from $54.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of APA from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of APA in a report on Monday, April 8th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On APA

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Harris Associates L P raised its position in APA by 17.8% during the 4th quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 15,705,693 shares of the company’s stock worth $563,520,000 after buying an additional 2,367,570 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in APA by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,719,129 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,714,656,000 after purchasing an additional 2,003,862 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of APA by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 20,299,538 shares of the company’s stock worth $728,347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,938,335 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of APA by 130.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,534,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,037,000 after purchasing an additional 867,257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of APA by 1,527.3% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 921,662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,880,000 after purchasing an additional 865,026 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Price Performance

Shares of APA opened at $30.88 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $32.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.78. APA has a fifty-two week low of $28.90 and a fifty-two week high of $46.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.30 billion, a PE ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 3.29.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.12). APA had a return on equity of 45.32% and a net margin of 34.04%. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that APA will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Company Profile

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.