EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG) Shares Purchased by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 74,257 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,378 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in EOG Resources were worth $9,102,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in EOG Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its holdings in shares of EOG Resources by 149.4% during the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 202 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of EOG Resources in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of EOG Resources during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Keystone Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in EOG Resources during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. 89.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

EOG Resources Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:EOG opened at $124.37 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $129.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $127.73. EOG Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.78 and a 52-week high of $139.67. The company has a quick ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market capitalization of $68.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.25.

EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The energy exploration company reported $2.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $5.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.96 billion. EOG Resources had a net margin of 29.18% and a return on equity of 23.77%. As a group, analysts forecast that EOG Resources, Inc. will post 11.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EOG Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 16th will be issued a $0.975 dividend. This represents a $3.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 16th. EOG Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $144.00 price target (down from $151.00) on shares of EOG Resources in a report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com lowered EOG Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Raymond James raised their price target on EOG Resources from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of EOG Resources from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $150.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of EOG Resources from a “neutral” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $146.19.

Insider Activity at EOG Resources

In other EOG Resources 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 42,703 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,162,365.67. This 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. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

EOG Resources 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.