Analyzing APA Group (APAJF) and The Competition

APA Group (OTCMKTS:APAJF) is one of 46 publicly-traded companies in the “Gas Utilities” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its peers? We will compare APA Group to similar companies based on the strength of its valuation, earnings, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and profitability.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

20.7% of APA Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 52.7% of shares of all “Gas Utilities” companies are owned by institutional investors. 10.3% of shares of all “Gas Utilities” companies are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares APA Group and its peers revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
APA Group	N/A	N/A	18.13
APA Group Competitors	$8.31 billion	$316.42 million	13.17

APA Group’s peers have higher revenue and earnings than APA Group. APA Group is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Dividends

APA Group pays an annual dividend of $0.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. APA Group pays out 72.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Gas Utilities” companies pay a dividend yield of 12.1% and pay out 17.4% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. APA Group lags its peers as a dividend stock, given its lower dividend yield and higher payout ratio.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for APA Group and its peers, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
APA Group	0	1	0	0	2.00
APA Group Competitors	456	1360	1140	53	2.26

APA Group currently has a consensus price target of $9.00, indicating a potential upside of 26.23%. As a group, “Gas Utilities” companies have a potential upside of 11.12%. Given APA Group’s higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe APA Group is more favorable than its peers.

Profitability

This table compares APA Group and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
APA Group	N/A	N/A	N/A
APA Group Competitors	20.36%	8.29%	3.65%

Summary

APA Group peers beat APA Group on 11 of the 13 factors compared.

APA Group Company Profile

APA Group engages in the energy infrastructure business in Australia. The company operates through Energy Infrastructure, Asset Management, and Energy Investments segments. It operates gas transmission pipelines and interconnected grids, gas-fired power stations, electricity transmission interconnectors, solar and wind farms, and battery energy storage systems, as well as gas storage, processing, and compression facilities. The company also has interests in approximately 15,000 kilometers of gas transmission pipelines; approximately 29,500 kilometers of gas mains and pipelines; and 1.5 million gas consumer connections. It also provides asset management and operating services to its energy investments and third parties; and invests in energy infrastructure. The company is headquartered in Sydney, Australia.