APA (NASDAQ:APA) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.01 EPS

APA (NASDAQ:APA) issued its earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by ($0.01), Zacks reports. APA had a return on equity of 20.70% and a net margin of 17.38%.

APA Stock Performance

APA stock traded down $1.14 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $34.66. 5,391,167 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,041,512. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. APA has a 52-week low of $17.86 and a 52-week high of $45.66. The stock has a market cap of $12.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.08 and a beta of 0.35. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $35.14 and its 200 day moving average is $34.53.

APA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of APA from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of APA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of APA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of APA in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on APA from $38.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.35.

Insider Buying and Selling at APA

In other news, VP Mark D. Maddox sold 9,800 shares of APA stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.04, for a total transaction of $392,392.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 66,810 shares in the company, valued at $2,675,072.40. This trade represents a 12.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.73% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APA

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its holdings in APA by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 130,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,201,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its position in shares of APA by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 24,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $603,000 after buying an additional 582 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of APA by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 11,794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 691 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC grew its stake in shares of APA by 115.1% during the 4th quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 710 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of APA by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 13,442 shares of the company’s stock valued at $329,000 after acquiring an additional 721 shares during the period. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.