APA (NASDAQ:APA) Rating Lowered to “Outperform” at Raymond James

APA (NASDAQ:APA) was downgraded by Raymond James from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. They currently have a $32.00 price objective on the stock, down from their prior price objective of $45.00. Raymond James’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 69.85% from the company’s previous close.

APA has been the topic of several other reports. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of APA from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of APA from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $32.00 price objective on shares of APA in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Mizuho lowered their target price on APA from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered APA from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $42.00 to $25.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $29.15.

APA Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:APA opened at $18.84 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $22.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.62. The company has a market capitalization of $6.86 billion, a PE ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 3.26. APA has a 52 week low of $17.66 and a 52 week high of $36.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24.

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

Insider Activity at APA

In related news, Director Juliet S. Ellis bought 4,391 shares of APA stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $22.78 per share, with a total value of $100,026.98. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 12,436 shares in the company, valued at $283,292.08. This trade represents a 54.58 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of APA during the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of APA in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,721,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of APA by 459.8% in the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 53,538 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,236,000 after purchasing an additional 43,974 shares during the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of APA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,612,000. Finally, CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. purchased a new stake in APA during the fourth quarter worth about $204,000. 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.