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

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

APA Trading Down 1.7 %

NASDAQ APA traded down $0.37 on Wednesday, hitting $22.01. 8,659,980 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,542,277. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 3.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $22.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.14. APA has a 52-week low of $20.32 and a 52-week high of $36.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24.

APA Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Mizuho decreased their price objective on APA from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of APA from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $42.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of APA from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Truist Financial cut their price target on APA from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of APA from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.65.

Insider Buying and Selling at APA

In related news, Director Juliet S. Ellis purchased 4,391 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $22.78 per share, for a total transaction of $100,026.98. Following the purchase, the director now owns 12,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $283,292.08. This trade represents a 54.58 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.