APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.25

APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, December 11th,RTT News reports. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.47%.

APA has increased its dividend payment by an average of 45.5% per year over the last three years. APA has a dividend payout ratio of 27.7% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect APA to earn $3.37 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 29.7%.

APA Stock Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ:APA traded up $0.12 on Wednesday, reaching $22.38. The stock had a trading volume of 7,053,327 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,281,144. The company has a 50-day moving average of $23.73 and a 200 day moving average of $26.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market cap of $8.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 3.19. APA has a 12-month low of $20.95 and a 12-month high of $37.82.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Bernstein Bank dropped their price objective on APA from $30.00 to $28.00 in a report on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of APA from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of APA from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of APA from $29.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on APA from $49.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.52.

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.