Scotiabank Issues Pessimistic Forecast for APA Earnings

APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) – Investment analysts at Scotiabank lowered their FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of APA in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, January 8th. Scotiabank analyst P. Cheng now anticipates that the company will post earnings per share of $3.80 for the year, down from their previous estimate of $4.05. Scotiabank currently has a “Sector Perform” rating and a $27.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for APA’s current full-year earnings is $4.01 per share. Scotiabank also issued estimates for APA’s FY2026 earnings at $3.05 EPS.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on APA. Mizuho dropped their price objective on APA from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on APA from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on APA from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on APA from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price objective on APA from $52.00 to $48.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.55.

APA Price Performance

APA stock opened at $23.68 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. APA has a 52-week low of $20.32 and a 52-week high of $36.04. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $22.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.75. The company has a market capitalization of $8.76 billion, a PE ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 3.16.

APA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 22nd. APA’s payout ratio is 14.12%.

Insider Activity at APA

In other news, Director Juliet S. Ellis bought 4,391 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $22.78 per share, for a total transaction of $100,026.98. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 12,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $283,292.08. This trade represents a 54.58 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of APA

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Woodstock Corp boosted its stake in shares of APA by 20.3% during the 3rd quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 308,253 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,540,000 after acquiring an additional 51,993 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of APA by 4.2% in the 3rd 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. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of APA in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $7,238,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of APA by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,261,324 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,852,000 after buying an additional 149,762 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PVG Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of APA in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $757,000. 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.