APA Co. (APA) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.25 on February 21st

APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, December 11th,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 22nd will be given a dividend of 0.25 per share on Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 22nd.

APA has raised its dividend payment by an average of 93.8% per year over the last three years. APA has a payout ratio of 29.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect APA to earn $3.41 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 29.3%.

APA Trading Down 3.0 %

NASDAQ:APA opened at $24.40 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 3.16. APA has a one year low of $20.32 and a one year high of $36.04. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $22.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.49.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on APA shares. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of APA from $39.00 to $33.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of APA from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of APA from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of APA from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of APA from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.55.

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 stock was bought at an average cost 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 in the company, valued at approximately $283,292.08. The trade was a 54.58 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.