Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for APA (NASDAQ:APA) Stock Price

APA (NASDAQ:APA) had its price target hoisted by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $41.00 to $43.00 in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “underweight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target points to a potential downside of 9.21% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on APA. Truist Financial upped their target price on APA from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings raised APA from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on APA from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $43.00 price objective on shares of APA in a report on Monday, September 7th. Finally, KeyCorp set a $46.00 price objective on APA in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.38.

APA Stock Down 0.0%

NASDAQ:APA traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $47.36. 962,449 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,663,473. APA has a fifty-two week low of $21.63 and a fifty-two week high of $48.60. The company has a market capitalization of $16.59 billion, a PE ratio of 10.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.15.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.90 by ($0.01). APA had a return on equity of 24.84% and a net margin of 19.48%. The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.87 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that APA will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, September 16th that authorizes the company to buy back 40,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of APA

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APA. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of APA in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,173,231,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of APA by 1,726.2% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,834,502 shares of the company’s stock worth $205,176,000 after purchasing an additional 4,569,779 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of APA during the second quarter worth $134,558,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its position in APA by 240.5% in the 2nd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 2,662,794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,727,000 after buying an additional 1,880,674 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in APA by 55.0% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,154,301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $176,309,000 after buying an additional 1,473,626 shares during the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About APA

APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA) is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The company’s activities include identifying prospective resources, drilling and completing wells, and managing producing assets across multiple international markets.

APA’s operations have historically been concentrated in the Permian Basin of the United States and in Egypt’s Western Desert, where it participates in exploration and production activities through joint ventures.