APA (NASDAQ:APA) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.18 EPS

APA (NASDAQ:APA) posted its earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.18), Zacks reports. APA had a net margin of 24.36% and a return on equity of 27.86%.

APA Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of APA opened at $22.01 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $22.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. APA has a twelve month low of $20.32 and a twelve month high of $36.04. The stock has a market cap of $8.14 billion, a PE ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 3.15.

APA Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.54%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Juliet S. Ellis purchased 4,391 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $22.78 per share, with a total value of $100,026.98. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 12,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $283,292.08. This represents a 54.58 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on APA shares. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of APA from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Raymond James upped their target price on APA from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on APA from $29.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays decreased their price target on APA from $30.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of APA from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, APA has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.65.

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.