APA (NASDAQ:APA) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.19 EPS

APA (NASDAQ:APA) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.19, Zacks reports. APA had a net margin of 10.53% and a return on equity of 20.98%. The company had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.00 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 16.4% on a year-over-year basis.

APA Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of APA stock opened at $23.49 on Friday. APA has a fifty-two week low of $13.58 and a fifty-two week high of $25.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $8.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.28 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.30.

APA Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. APA’s dividend payout ratio is 33.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wolfe Research increased their price target on APA from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of APA to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Stephens raised their target price on shares of APA from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on shares of APA from $28.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on APA from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.58.

Institutional Trading of APA

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of APA. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in APA by 157.1% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,060,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,970,000 after purchasing an additional 1,869,891 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in APA by 43.3% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,668,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,092,000 after acquiring an additional 806,252 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its stake in APA by 528.8% during the 2nd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 681,588 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,466,000 after acquiring an additional 573,193 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in APA by 171.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 743,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,603,000 after purchasing an additional 470,192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of APA by 528.4% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 354,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,482,000 after purchasing an additional 298,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.