APA (NASDAQ:APA) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.29 EPS

APA (NASDAQ:APA) released its earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.29, Zacks reports. The company had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. APA had a return on equity of 19.86% and a net margin of 15.49%.APA’s revenue was down 26.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.79 EPS.

APA Stock Down 2.7%

Shares of APA stock traded down $0.78 on Wednesday, hitting $27.84. 6,318,977 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,432,091. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $25.98 and its 200 day moving average is $24.40. The stock has a market cap of $9.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.69, a PEG ratio of 13.13 and a beta of 0.74. APA has a 52-week low of $13.58 and a 52-week high of $30.08.

APA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 22nd will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.04%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On APA

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in APA by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 11,794 shares of the company’s stock worth $286,000 after buying an additional 691 shares during the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of APA by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 12,321 shares of the company’s stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 1,823 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of APA by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 12,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $302,000 after acquiring an additional 773 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC lifted its stake in APA by 104.8% during the third quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 12,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 6,577 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC boosted its holdings in APA by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 13,442 shares of the company’s stock worth $329,000 after purchasing an additional 721 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on APA shares. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $31.00 price objective on shares of APA in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Zacks Research cut APA from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on APA from $23.00 to $21.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on APA from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on APA from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, APA presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.39.

About APA

APA Corporation (NASDAQ: APA) is an independent exploration and production company engaged in the acquisition, development and production of oil and natural gas resources. The company operates through three core regions: the United States, Egypt and the North Sea. Through its integrated approach, APA combines geological and geophysical expertise with technical innovation to identify and develop hydrocarbons in both onshore and offshore settings.

In the United States, APA’s largest position is in the Permian Basin of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, where it holds substantial acreage dedicated to oil-focused drilling and production.