Inspire Investing LLC Raises Stock Holdings in EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG)

Inspire Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG) by 5.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,443 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock after acquiring an additional 548 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in EOG Resources were worth $1,280,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in EOG Resources by 64.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,284,228 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock valued at $694,717,000 after purchasing an additional 2,076,134 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of EOG Resources by 856.7% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,200,851 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock worth $147,621,000 after buying an additional 1,075,334 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in shares of EOG Resources in the second quarter valued at $106,990,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in EOG Resources by 577.8% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 696,596 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock worth $85,389,000 after acquiring an additional 593,823 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in EOG Resources by 9.1% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,840,705 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock valued at $609,300,000 after acquiring an additional 403,676 shares during the period. 89.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EOG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of EOG Resources from $127.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of EOG Resources from $156.00 to $148.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $144.00 price target (down previously from $151.00) on shares of EOG Resources in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Wolfe Research upgraded EOG Resources from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $143.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of EOG Resources in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, EOG Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.86.

EOG Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EOG opened at $133.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 2.31 and a quick ratio of 2.07. EOG Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $108.94 and a 12 month high of $139.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $129.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $127.27.

EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The energy exploration company reported $2.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.73 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $5.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.03 billion. EOG Resources had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 29.18%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.44 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that EOG Resources, Inc. will post 11.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EOG Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 an increase from EOG Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. EOG Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.40%.

EOG Resources declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, November 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the energy exploration company to purchase up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at EOG Resources

In other EOG Resources news, COO Jeffrey R. Leitzell sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,162,365.67. This trade represents a 8.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 transaction of $76,867.44. Following the completion of the transaction, 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.

EOG Resources Company Profile

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.