The Goldman Sachs Group Lowers APA (NASDAQ:APA) Price Target to $32.00

APA (NASDAQ:APA) had its price target lowered by equities research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $34.00 to $32.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has a “sell” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price target points to a potential downside of 2.97% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Mizuho boosted their price objective on APA from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Evercore lifted their price target on shares of APA from $25.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of APA from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of APA from $37.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of APA from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.88.

APA Trading Up 0.1%

APA stock traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $32.98. 290,390 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,345,003. APA has a one year low of $17.86 and a one year high of $45.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $11.66 billion, a PE ratio of 7.68 and a beta of 0.34. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $36.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.71.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. APA had a return on equity of 20.70% and a net margin of 17.38%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.06 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that APA will post 5.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Mark D. Maddox sold 9,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.04, for a total value of $392,392.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 66,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,675,072.40. The trade was a 12.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.73% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On APA

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APA. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in APA by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 16,376,952 shares of the company’s stock worth $695,099,000 after buying an additional 1,055,016 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of APA by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,710,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $359,807,000 after acquiring an additional 285,542 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of APA by 21.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,425,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $255,010,000 after acquiring an additional 1,864,900 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of APA by 76.9% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 7,171,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $175,426,000 after acquiring an additional 3,117,032 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 4,569,779 shares in the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.