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

APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 8th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of 0.25 per share on Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th.

APA has raised its dividend payment by an average of 45.5% per year over the last three years. APA has a payout ratio of 19.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect APA to earn $5.32 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 18.8%.

APA Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of APA opened at $32.50 on Wednesday. APA has a 1 year low of $29.47 and a 1 year high of $46.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.75. The firm has a market cap of $9.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 3.27.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by ($0.18). APA had a net margin of 34.95% and a return on equity of 62.64%. The business had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.07 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.48 EPS. APA’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that APA will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James reduced their price objective on APA from $44.00 to $43.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Barclays initiated coverage on APA in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $40.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of APA in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of APA from $53.00 to $50.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on APA from $59.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, APA currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.80.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its holdings in shares of APA by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 25,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $919,000 after purchasing an additional 785 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its stake in APA by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 128,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,606,000 after acquiring an additional 1,971 shares during the period. Hoertkorn Richard Charles purchased a new stake in shares of APA during the 4th quarter valued at about $6,978,000. Systematic Portfolios LLC bought a new stake in shares of APA in the fourth quarter worth approximately $281,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of APA by 22.4% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,922,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,976,000 after purchasing an additional 352,386 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

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.