APA (APA) closed at $24.92 in the latest trading session, marking a -1.11% move from the prior day. This change lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.16%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.17%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.26%.
The stock of oil and natural gas producer has fallen by 2.82% in the past month, lagging the Oils-Energy sector's loss of 0.36% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.89%.
Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of APA in its upcoming earnings disclosure. In that report, analysts expect APA to post earnings of $0.63 per share. This would mark a year-over-year decline of 20.25%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $2 billion, down 20.1% from the year-ago period.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $3.52 per share and revenue of $8.89 billion, which would represent changes of -6.63% and 0%, respectively, from the prior year.
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for APA. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the business performance and profit potential.
Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
The Zacks Rank system, which varies between #1 (Strong Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), carries an impressive track record of exceeding expectations, confirmed by external audits, with stocks at #1 delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.55% lower within the past month. As of now, APA holds a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
In the context of valuation, APA is at present trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 10.67. This denotes a discount relative to the industry average Forward P/E of 10.68.
Investors should also note that APA has a PEG ratio of 10.16 right now. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. As of the close of trade yesterday, the Oil and Gas - Exploration and Production - United States industry held an average PEG ratio of 2.93.
The Oil and Gas - Exploration and Production - United States industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 176, which puts it in the bottom 29% of all 250+ industries.
The strength of our individual industry groups is measured by the Zacks Industry Rank, which is calculated based on the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within these groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Don't forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming trading sessions.
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APA Corporation (APA): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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