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APA (APA) Stock Slides as Market Rises: Facts to Know Before You Trade

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In the latest close session, APA (APA - Free Report) was down 1.33% at $22.98. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.85% gain on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 1.36%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.72%.

The oil and natural gas producer's stock has climbed by 13.28% in the past month, exceeding the Oils-Energy sector's gain of 3.38% and the S&P 500's gain of 2.38%.

The upcoming earnings release of APA will be of great interest to investors. The company is expected to report EPS of $0.71, down 29% from the prior-year quarter. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $2.11 billion, showing a 16.88% drop compared to the year-ago quarter.

APA's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $3.21 per share and revenue of $9.24 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of -14.85% and -5.07%, respectively.

Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for APA. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the business health and profitability.

Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 2.16% higher. Currently, APA is carrying a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Valuation is also important, so investors should note that APA has a Forward P/E ratio of 7.26 right now. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 10.78, which means APA is trading at a discount to the group.

It is also worth noting that APA currently has a PEG ratio of 6.92. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. The Oil and Gas - Exploration and Production - United States industry had an average PEG ratio of 0.77 as trading concluded yesterday.

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 159, which puts it in the bottom 36% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.


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