Wells Fargo & Company Begins Coverage on APA (NASDAQ:APA)

Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of APA (NASDAQ:APA) in a report released on Wednesday, StockNewsAPI reports. The brokerage set an “overweight” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 71.55% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of APA in a research report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of APA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of APA in a report on Monday, April 15th. Barclays started coverage on shares of APA in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of APA from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.25.

APA Stock Performance

APA stock opened at $32.06 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $32.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $9.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 3.27. APA has a fifty-two week low of $29.47 and a fifty-two week high of $46.15.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.33 by ($0.18). The company had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.07 billion. APA had a net margin of 34.95% and a return on equity of 62.64%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.48 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that APA will post 4.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lido Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of APA by 1.2% during the third quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 21,901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $900,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. DNB Asset Management AS raised its holdings in shares of APA by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 49,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,788,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of APA by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its holdings in shares of APA by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 25,029 shares of the company’s stock valued at $898,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of APA by 64.0% during the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 961 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.