Royal Bank Of Canada Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for APA (NASDAQ:APA) Stock

APA (NASDAQ:APA) had its price target boosted by Royal Bank Of Canada from $26.00 to $29.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. The firm presently has a “sector perform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s price target indicates a potential downside of 6.99% from the stock’s current price.

APA has been the subject of a number of other research reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on APA from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Citigroup lifted their target price on APA from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on APA from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of APA from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Capital One Financial decreased their price objective on shares of APA from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.43.

APA Stock Performance

APA opened at $31.18 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $11.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 15.48 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $26.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.79. APA has a 52-week low of $13.58 and a 52-week high of $32.78.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.29. APA had a net margin of 15.55% and a return on equity of 19.89%. The company had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. APA’s revenue was down 26.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that APA will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of APA

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of APA. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its position in shares of APA by 276.7% during the 3rd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 891 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC increased its stake in APA by 115.1% during the 4th quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 710 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new position in shares of APA during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Spire Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of APA by 179.6% in the third quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 977 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Camelot Portfolios LLC acquired a new stake in shares of APA in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Company Profile

APA Corporation (NASDAQ: APA) is an independent exploration and production company engaged in the acquisition, development and production of oil and natural gas resources. The company operates through three core regions: the United States, Egypt and the North Sea. Through its integrated approach, APA combines geological and geophysical expertise with technical innovation to identify and develop hydrocarbons in both onshore and offshore settings.

In the United States, APA’s largest position is in the Permian Basin of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, where it holds substantial acreage dedicated to oil-focused drilling and production.