Goelzer Investment Management Inc. Reduces Position in EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG)

Goelzer Investment Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 23,276 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock after selling 469 shares during the period. Goelzer Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in EOG Resources were worth $2,853,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of EOG. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in EOG Resources by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,411,032 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock worth $2,140,338,000 after buying an additional 75,194 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of EOG Resources by 1.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,315,735 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock worth $1,513,446,000 after acquiring an additional 180,755 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of EOG Resources by 64.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,284,228 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock worth $694,717,000 after purchasing an additional 2,076,134 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 403,676 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in EOG Resources by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,254,645 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock worth $523,024,000 after purchasing an additional 130,822 shares in the last quarter. 89.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

EOG Resources Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:EOG opened at $131.73 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $74.09 billion, a PE ratio of 10.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s 50 day moving average is $129.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $127.31. EOG Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $108.94 and a 52 week high of $139.67. 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 (NYSE:EOG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The energy exploration company reported $2.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.73 by $0.16. EOG Resources had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 29.18%. The firm had revenue of $5.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.44 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that EOG Resources, Inc. will post 11.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EOG Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a dividend of $0.975 per share. This is an increase from EOG Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. EOG Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.40%.

EOG Resources announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 7th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the energy exploration company to buy up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp cut their target price on shares of EOG Resources from $157.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on EOG Resources from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Raymond James boosted their target price on EOG Resources from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho cut their price target on EOG Resources from $156.00 to $148.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of EOG Resources in a report on Monday, January 13th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued 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 an average target price of $143.86.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Jeffrey R. Leitzell sold 4,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 42,703 shares in the company, valued at $5,162,365.67. This represents a 8.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Janet F. Clark sold 568 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 43,532 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Corporate insiders own 0.30% 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.