Zacks Research Issues Positive Estimate for APA Earnings

APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) – Analysts at Zacks Research raised their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of APA in a research note issued on Wednesday, December 11th. Zacks Research analyst N. Choudhury now expects that the company will post earnings per share of $0.50 for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $0.49. The consensus estimate for APA’s current full-year earnings is $4.01 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for APA’s Q2 2025 earnings at $0.77 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $1.04 EPS and Q3 2026 earnings at $0.69 EPS.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on APA. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of APA from $49.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of APA from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of APA from $29.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays dropped their target price on APA from $30.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on APA from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.33.

APA Stock Performance

NASDAQ:APA opened at $21.94 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.12 billion, a PE ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 3.18. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $23.41 and its 200 day moving average is $26.51. APA has a fifty-two week low of $20.95 and a fifty-two week high of $37.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24.

APA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 22nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.56%. APA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.12%.

Insider Transactions at APA

In related news, Director Juliet S. Ellis acquired 4,391 shares of the company’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 transaction, 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APA

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its position 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 worth $745,341,000 after purchasing an additional 3,411,270 shares in the last quarter. Harris Associates L P lifted its stake in shares of APA by 20.8% in the 3rd 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. boosted its holdings 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 worth $293,312,000 after buying an additional 485,291 shares in the last quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. grew its position in APA by 3.5% during the third quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,667,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,466,000 after buying an additional 326,042 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in APA by 2.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,307,186 shares of the company’s stock valued at $226,928,000 after buying an additional 224,547 shares in the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.