Zacks Research Issues Optimistic Outlook for APA Earnings

APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research upped their Q3 2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of APA in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, October 14th. Zacks Research analyst N. Choudhury now anticipates that the company will post earnings of $0.89 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $0.77. The consensus estimate for APA’s current full-year earnings is $3.97 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for APA’s Q4 2024 earnings at $0.57 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $3.41 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $0.72 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.06 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.01 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $3.65 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $1.00 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $0.88 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $0.64 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $3.42 EPS.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $2.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.28 billion. APA had a net margin of 32.66% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 41.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.85 earnings per share.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on APA. Citigroup decreased their target price on APA from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 9th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on APA from $35.00 to $28.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of APA from $36.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of APA from $39.00 to $33.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on shares of APA from $37.00 to $30.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $34.86.

APA Stock Performance

Shares of APA stock opened at $24.92 on Wednesday. APA has a 52 week low of $22.72 and a 52 week high of $43.58. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $26.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.25 billion, a PE ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 3.23.

APA Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.19%.

Institutional Trading of APA

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in APA by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,648,084 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,535,001,000 after purchasing an additional 2,004,555 shares during the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of APA by 18.5% during the first quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 48,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,673,000 after buying an additional 7,580 shares during the last quarter. Ellis Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in APA in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,499,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in APA by 112.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,448,935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,092,000 after acquiring an additional 767,557 shares during the period. Finally, Woodstock Corp raised its stake in APA by 20.3% during the 3rd quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 308,253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,540,000 after acquiring an additional 51,993 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

APA Company Profile

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.