APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA – Get Rating) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, December 13th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 23rd will be given a dividend of 0.25 per share on Wednesday, February 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%.
APA has a dividend payout ratio of 10.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect APA to earn $8.86 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 11.3%.
APA Trading Up 4.4 %
NASDAQ APA traded up $1.92 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $45.83. 9,657,656 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,779,771. APA has a 12 month low of $22.94 and a 12 month high of $51.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.73 billion, a PE ratio of 4.38, a PEG ratio of 0.22 and a beta of 3.66. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.33.
APA (NASDAQ:APA – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 2nd. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.92 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.35 billion. APA had a net margin of 33.83% and a return on equity of 325.67%. The firm’s revenue was up 40.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.98 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that APA will post 8.18 earnings per share for the current year.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of APA from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 14th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of APA from $56.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 29th. StockNews.com lowered shares of APA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of APA from $38.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of APA from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, APA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.00.
APA announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, September 14th that permits the company to repurchase 40,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On APA
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of APA by 117.8% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 808 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of APA by 28.1% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of APA by 94.1% in the first quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,947 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 944 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of APA in the first quarter valued at approximately $145,000. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC bought a new position in shares of APA in the first quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Institutional investors own 83.36% of the company’s stock.
APA Company Profile
APA Corporation, through its subsidiaries, explores for, develops, and produces oil and gas properties. It has operations in the United States, Egypt, and the United Kingdom, as well as has exploration activities offshore Suriname. The company also operates gathering, processing, and transmission assets in West Texas, as well as holds ownership in four Permian-to-Gulf Coast pipelines.