APA Co. Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.25 (NASDAQ:APA)

APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, December 11th,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 22nd will be given a dividend of 0.25 per share on Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 22nd.

APA has increased its dividend by an average of 93.8% annually over the last three years. APA has a payout ratio of 29.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect APA to earn $3.41 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 29.3%.

APA Trading Down 3.0 %

Shares of APA stock opened at $24.40 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $22.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.49. APA has a 1 year low of $20.32 and a 1 year high of $36.04. The stock has a market cap of $9.03 billion, a PE ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 3.16.

Insider Buying and Selling at APA

In other news, Director Juliet S. Ellis bought 4,391 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $22.78 per share, for a total transaction of $100,026.98. Following the acquisition, the director now directly 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of APA from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of APA from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $32.00 price objective on shares of APA in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of APA from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Bernstein Bank cut their price objective on shares of APA from $30.00 to $28.00 in a report on Friday, October 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.55.

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.