EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG) Stock Has Average Price Target of $162.32

Shares of EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-eight research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $162.84.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on EOG. Freedom Capital lowered EOG Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $186.00 target price (up from $183.00) on shares of EOG Resources in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. Barclays boosted their price target on EOG Resources from $155.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on EOG Resources from $157.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Capital One Financial downgraded EOG Resources from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $153.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Jeffrey Leitzell sold 9,039 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.61, for a total transaction of $1,270,973.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 90,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,765,981.90. This trade represents a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Michael Donaldson sold 7,336 shares of EOG Resources stock in a transaction on Friday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $1,085,728.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 100,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,882,584. This represents a 6.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 52,317 shares of company stock worth $7,823,480. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Byrne Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in EOG Resources by 469.4% in the third quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 205 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in EOG Resources in the third quarter worth $30,000. Wedbush Fund Advisers LLC purchased a new position in EOG Resources in the second quarter worth $31,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of EOG Resources during the first quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Main Street Group LTD acquired a new position in shares of EOG Resources during the first quarter worth $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.91% of the company’s stock.

EOG Resources Price Performance

EOG Resources stock traded up $2.63 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $158.25. The stock had a trading volume of 3,240,241 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,273,360. EOG Resources has a one year low of $101.59 and a one year high of $165.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.27. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $150.04 and its 200 day moving average is $138.97.

EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The energy exploration company reported $4.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.45 by $0.42. EOG Resources had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 27.54%. The business had revenue of $8.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.26 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.71 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 46.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that EOG Resources will post 18.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EOG Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 29th. Investors of record on Friday, January 15th will be given a dividend of $1.10 per share. This is a positive change from EOG Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 15th. EOG Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.42%.

About EOG Resources

EOG Resources is an independent energy company focused on exploring for, developing and producing crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its operations include drilling and managing wells, with a focus on resources in shale and other tight-rock formations. The company’s activities are concentrated in the United States, including major producing regions such as the Permian Basin and Eagle Ford. EOG also has international operations, including in Trinidad and Tobago and the United Arab Emirates.