Shares of APA Corp. (NASDAQ: APA) were on an upswing in pre-market trading on Thursday as the company doubled its dividends from 50 cents to $1 per share annually.
APA Corp owns consolidated subsidiaries that are in the production and exploration of oil and natural gas in the United States, Egypt, and the United Kingdom
APA’s next quarterly dividend will be payable on November 22, 2022, to stockholders of record on October 21, 2022, at a rate of 25 cents per share on the company’s common shares, up from 12.5 cents per share.
John Christmann IV, APA CEO and President stated, “Over the last year, we’ve significantly strengthened our balance sheet and committed to returning a minimum of 60% of free cash flow to our shareholders through dividend and stock repurchases.”
Christmann added, “At an annualized rate of $1.00 per share, our dividend yield is expected to exceed the current average dividend yield of the S&P 500.”
APA’s Board of Directors also authorized a share buyback of an additional 40 million shares.