APA (NASDAQ:APA) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.27 EPS

APA (NASDAQ:APA) released its earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.27, Zacks reports. APA had a net margin of 15.55% and a return on equity of 19.89%.

APA Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ APA traded down $3.18 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $38.30. 9,934,510 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,975,239. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.29. The stock has a market cap of $13.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.60 and a beta of 0.38. APA has a 12-month low of $15.20 and a 12-month high of $45.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

APA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.06%.

Insider Activity at APA

In other news, Director Matthew Regis Bob sold 23,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.23, for a total value of $833,290.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,634 shares in the company, valued at $240,349.82. This represents a 77.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.73% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Compound Planning Inc. increased its holdings in shares of APA by 45.5% during the 4th quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 15,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $371,000 after purchasing an additional 4,744 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of APA by 212.2% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 416,796 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,195,000 after purchasing an additional 283,299 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its stake in shares of APA by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 102,471 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,506,000 after purchasing an additional 12,211 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of APA by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 144,112 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,525,000 after purchasing an additional 15,657 shares during the period. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of APA in the 4th quarter valued at $632,000. 83.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

APA News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting APA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 earnings beat — APA reported $1.38 EPS vs. $1.11 consensus, with a healthy net margin and ROE; management posted the slide deck and investor materials. This underpins cash-flow strength and validates operational execution. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Company release — APA published its official Q1 2026 financial and operational results (detailed metrics and commentary available), supporting the earnings beat narrative. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Sector tailwinds — coverage highlighting rising oil prices and a strong cash-flow outlook helped push APA into recent sector gains and contributed to its strong YTD performance, supporting upside potential if commodity strength continues. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Value recognition — APA made Zacks’ value/strong-buy lists (Zacks Rank #1), which can attract longer-term value-oriented investors. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: BofA raised its price target to $30 but kept an Underperform rating — PT move is modestly supportive, but the maintained negative bias from the analyst limits its bullish impact. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Pre-earnings analyst notes and metrics previews (Zacks) provided context on expectations (lower revenue flagged but cost/reduction and output stability emphasized); these framed investor expectations heading into the print. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Non-operational update — APA updated guidance on citing generative AI tools (corporate policy change); unlikely to materially affect near-term financials. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst/market positioning may cap near-term upside — despite the EPS beat, some analysts had warned of lower revenue and the firm’s sizable YTD gain (noted in coverage) increases the risk of profit-taking and short-term pullbacks. Read More.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Wolfe Research lifted their target price on shares of APA from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of APA from $21.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of APA from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on shares of APA from $31.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Capital One Financial lowered their target price on shares of APA from $51.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, APA presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.50.

APA Company Profile

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.