APA (NASDAQ:APA) Cut to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of APA (NASDAQ:APA) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports. Zacks Research also issued estimates for APA’s Q3 2026 earnings at $0.56 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $0.50 EPS and Q3 2027 earnings at $0.56 EPS.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on APA. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of APA from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Capital One Financial decreased their target price on shares of APA from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of APA from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on APA from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of APA in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.39.

APA Trading Down 3.7%

Shares of APA stock opened at $25.55 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. APA has a 1 year low of $13.58 and a 1 year high of $27.72. The firm has a market cap of $9.06 billion, a PE ratio of 6.14, a PEG ratio of 11.84 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.04.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. APA had a return on equity of 19.86% and a net margin of 15.49%.APA’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.00 EPS. Analysts expect that APA will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.04%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On APA

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of APA. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of APA by 157.1% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,060,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,970,000 after purchasing an additional 1,869,891 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of APA by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,030,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $340,657,000 after purchasing an additional 1,674,739 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of APA by 29.6% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,462,476 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,349,000 after buying an additional 1,018,326 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its position in APA by 7,627.3% during the 3rd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 1,013,516 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,608,000 after buying an additional 1,000,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in APA by 160.5% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 336,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,165,000 after buying an additional 892,438 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting APA

Here are the key news stories impacting APA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies raised its price target on APA to $22 (from $21) and kept a “hold” rating — a modest positive signal that trims downside versus prior forecasts. Jefferies PT raise
• Positive Sentiment: The Goldman Sachs team bumped its price target to $23 (from $21) even while retaining a “sell” rating — the higher target is marginally supportive of the share price versus the prior forecast. Goldman Sachs PT raise
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks updated short-term quarterly estimates (small increases to some Q3/Q4 items), indicating analysts are still refining near-term forecasts rather than cutting them uniformly. Zacks estimates update
• Neutral Sentiment: Pre-earnings previews (Yahoo Finance, Barchart) note consensus expects a double-digit earnings contraction for APA in the upcoming quarter — this sets a lower bar for the quarter but is informational until results are released. Yahoo earnings preview Barchart earnings preview
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks downgraded APA from “hold” to a “strong sell” — a substantive negative rating change that increases selling pressure and signals low analyst conviction. Zacks downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Barclays reaffirmed an underweight/negative stance on APA, contributing to the sell-side consensus pressure. Barclays downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan trimmed its price target to $25 (from $26) and kept a “neutral” rating — a small but incremental cut that removes upside and signals caution. JPMorgan PT cut

APA Company Profile

APA Corporation (NASDAQ: APA) is an independent exploration and production company engaged in the acquisition, development and production of oil and natural gas resources. The company operates through three core regions: the United States, Egypt and the North Sea. Through its integrated approach, APA combines geological and geophysical expertise with technical innovation to identify and develop hydrocarbons in both onshore and offshore settings.

In the United States, APA’s largest position is in the Permian Basin of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, where it holds substantial acreage dedicated to oil-focused drilling and production.