APA (NASDAQ:APA) Board of Directors Declares Share Repurchase Program

APA (NASDAQ:APA) announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, September 16th, RTT News reports. The company plans to repurchase 40,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on shares of APA from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Stephens raised their target price on shares of APA from $43.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of APA from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Argus upgraded shares of APA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $48.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Zacks Research cut APA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.97.

APA Trading Up 1.5%

NASDAQ:APA traded up $0.67 on Thursday, reaching $45.46. 5,075,097 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,985,738. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.37. The company’s 50 day moving average is $39.94 and its 200-day moving average is $37.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. APA has a 1-year low of $21.63 and a 1-year high of $47.44.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by ($0.01). APA had a return on equity of 24.84% and a net margin of 19.48%.The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that APA will post 5.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

APA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, October 22nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. APA’s payout ratio is presently 21.14%.

Key APA News

Here are the key news stories impacting APA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: APA maintained its quarterly dividend at $0.25 per share, equivalent to an annualized $1.00 and an indicated yield of approximately 2.2%. The dividend is payable November 23 to shareholders of record October 22. APA Keeps Quarterly Dividend at $0.25 a Share; Approves Additional Buyback Authorization
• Positive Sentiment: Technical analysts said APA may have broken above longstanding resistance near $45, potentially signaling that selling pressure is easing and a new uptrend is developing. The stock also recently reached a new 52-week high, reinforcing the positive momentum narrative. Stock of the Day: Did APA Corporation Break Major Resistance?
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlighted APA as a potentially strong growth stock, which may attract growth, value and momentum-oriented investors. Here’s Why APA Is a Strong Growth Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Brokers issued updated forecasts for APA’s fourth-quarter earnings, but the available report does not provide enough detail to determine whether the revisions are favorable or unfavorable. Brokers Issue Forecasts for APA’s Q4 Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: APA recently underperformed the broader market, declining 5.53% in the prior session. That weakness may reflect profit-taking or broader energy-sector pressure and remains a near-term risk despite the subsequent recovery. Here’s Why APA Fell More Than the Broader Market

About APA

APA Corporation (NASDAQ: APA) is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The company operates through subsidiaries and manages upstream assets spanning exploration, drilling, production and related field-development activities.

APA’s principal producing operations are in the Permian Basin of the United States and in Egypt. The company has also pursued offshore exploration opportunities in Suriname, where it has participated in drilling and appraisal activities in the country’s offshore blocks.