Capital One Financial Predicts Stronger Earnings for APA

APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) – Stock analysts at Capital One Financial boosted their FY2024 earnings estimates for APA in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, January 8th. Capital One Financial analyst B. Velie now forecasts that the company will post earnings of $4.09 per share for the year, up from their previous estimate of $4.06. The consensus estimate for APA’s current full-year earnings is $4.01 per share. Capital One Financial also issued estimates for APA’s Q4 2024 earnings at $1.13 EPS.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of APA from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on APA from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on APA from $39.00 to $33.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of APA from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $42.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of APA from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, APA presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.55.

APA Stock Performance

APA stock opened at $23.68 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. APA has a 12-month low of $20.32 and a 12-month high of $36.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.76 billion, a PE ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 3.16. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.73.

APA Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.22%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.12%.

Insider Activity

In other APA news, Director Juliet S. Ellis purchased 4,391 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $22.78 per share, with a total value of $100,026.98. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 12,436 shares in the company, valued at $283,292.08. This trade represents a 54.58 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of APA

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in APA. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of APA by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 30,471,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $745,341,000 after acquiring an additional 3,411,270 shares during the last quarter. Harris Associates L P raised its position in APA by 20.8% during the third quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 24,914,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $609,414,000 after purchasing an additional 4,293,932 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in APA by 4.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,991,513 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,312,000 after purchasing an additional 485,291 shares during the period. Smead Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of APA by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,667,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,466,000 after purchasing an additional 326,042 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of APA by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,307,186 shares of the company’s stock worth $226,928,000 after purchasing an additional 224,547 shares during the period. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.