Conning Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG)

Conning Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 284,463 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock after selling 17,525 shares during the period. Conning Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of EOG Resources worth $34,869,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in EOG. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings 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 valued at $694,717,000 after purchasing an additional 2,076,134 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $147,621,000 after purchasing an additional 1,075,334 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of EOG Resources by 577.8% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 696,596 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock valued at $85,389,000 after purchasing an additional 593,823 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of EOG Resources by 42.8% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,113,429 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock valued at $136,874,000 after purchasing an additional 333,947 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP raised its holdings in shares of EOG Resources by 1,003.6% during the third quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 343,160 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock valued at $42,185,000 after purchasing an additional 312,064 shares during the last quarter. 89.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at EOG Resources

In other EOG Resources news, Director Janet F. Clark sold 568 shares of the 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 $5,891,185.56. This trade represents a 1.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey R. Leitzell sold 4,000 shares of the 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 owns 42,703 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,162,365.67. This trade represents a 8.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on EOG shares. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of EOG Resources from $156.00 to $148.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of EOG Resources in a report on Monday, January 13th. KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of EOG Resources from $157.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $144.00 target price (down from $151.00) on shares of EOG Resources in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of EOG Resources from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $143.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.90.

EOG Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EOG opened at $126.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a current ratio of 2.31. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $127.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $127.28. EOG Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $109.06 and a fifty-two week high of $139.67. The firm has a market cap of $71.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.27.

EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The energy exploration company reported $2.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.73 by $0.16. EOG Resources had a net margin of 29.18% and a return on equity of 23.77%. The firm had revenue of $5.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.44 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that EOG Resources, Inc. will post 11.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EOG Resources declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, November 7th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the energy exploration company to reacquire up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.