EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Wednesday morning.

EOG has been the subject of several other reports. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of EOG Resources from $149.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup upped their target price on EOG Resources from $127.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $144.00 price target (down previously from $151.00) on shares of EOG Resources in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of EOG Resources from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of EOG Resources in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.86.

EOG Resources Stock Down 1.7 %

EOG opened at $131.73 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $129.07 and a 200 day moving average of $127.31. The company has a current ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. EOG Resources has a 12 month low of $108.94 and a 12 month high of $139.67. The company has a market cap of $74.09 billion, a PE ratio of 10.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 1.29.

EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The energy exploration company reported $2.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.73 by $0.16. EOG Resources had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 29.18%. The business had revenue of $5.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.44 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that EOG Resources will post 11.45 EPS for the current year.

EOG Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a $0.975 dividend. This is a boost from EOG Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $3.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.96%. EOG Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.40%.

EOG Resources announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 7th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the energy exploration company to repurchase up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other EOG Resources news, COO Jeffrey R. Leitzell sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.89, for a total value of $483,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 42,703 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,162,365.67. This trade represents a 8.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Janet F. Clark sold 568 shares of EOG Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.33, for a total value of $76,867.44. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 43,532 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,891,185.56. This represents a 1.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of EOG Resources

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EOG. RBA Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in EOG Resources by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. RBA Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,028 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock worth $2,455,000 after purchasing an additional 846 shares in the last quarter. Patron Partners LLC increased its position in shares of EOG Resources by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 2,461 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the period. Columbus Macro LLC raised its stake in EOG Resources by 33.9% in the fourth quarter. Columbus Macro LLC now owns 2,412 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock worth $296,000 after buying an additional 610 shares in the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in EOG Resources in the fourth quarter worth about $211,000. Finally, Fourpath Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in EOG Resources during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $486,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.91% of the company’s stock.

About EOG Resources

EOG Resources, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, explores for, develops, produces, and markets crude oil, natural gas liquids, and natural gas primarily in producing basins in the United States, the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and internationally. The company was formerly known as Enron Oil & Gas Company.