EOG Resources’ (EOG) Hold Rating Reiterated at Benchmark

Benchmark restated their hold rating on shares of EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) in a research note released on Monday,Benzinga reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on EOG. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $144.00 price objective (down from $151.00) on shares of EOG Resources in a research note on Monday. UBS Group reduced their price objective on EOG Resources from $167.00 to $154.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of EOG Resources from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $147.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of EOG Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 11th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of EOG Resources from $144.00 to $137.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.48.

EOG Resources Stock Performance

EOG opened at $137.17 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $77.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.04, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $128.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $126.84. The company has a quick ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. EOG Resources has a 52-week low of $108.94 and a 52-week high of $139.67.

EOG Resources declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the energy exploration company to reacquire up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

EOG Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a $0.975 dividend. This is a positive change from EOG Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. EOG Resources’s payout ratio is 31.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at EOG Resources

In other EOG Resources news, COO Jeffrey R. Leitzell sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.89, for a total transaction of $483,560.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 42,703 shares in the company, valued at $5,162,365.67. This represents a 8.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Janet F. Clark sold 568 shares of EOG Resources stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were 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 directly owns 43,532 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,891,185.56. The trade was a 1.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of EOG Resources

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in EOG Resources by 631.2% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 94,590 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock worth $11,906,000 after buying an additional 81,654 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of EOG Resources by 3.3% during the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,888 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock worth $741,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its stake in shares of EOG Resources by 185.4% in the second quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 1,627 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock valued at $205,000 after acquiring an additional 1,057 shares in the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC boosted its holdings in EOG Resources by 4.1% in the second quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 30,234 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock valued at $3,806,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190 shares during the period. Finally, Waycross Partners LLC grew its stake in EOG Resources by 13.1% during the 2nd quarter. Waycross Partners LLC now owns 84,965 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock worth $10,695,000 after purchasing an additional 9,847 shares in the last quarter. 89.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.