EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Friday morning.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on EOG. Truist Financial lifted their target price on EOG Resources from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of EOG Resources from $144.00 to $137.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of EOG Resources in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of EOG Resources from $156.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price objective on EOG Resources from $157.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued 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 a consensus price target of $143.48.

EOG Resources Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of EOG stock opened at $126.57 on Friday. EOG Resources has a 52-week low of $108.94 and a 52-week high of $139.67. 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 stock has a market cap of $71.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.19, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $127.18 and its 200-day moving average is $126.39.

EOG Resources declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, November 7th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the energy exploration company to buy up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

EOG Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a $0.975 dividend. This represents a $3.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This is an increase from EOG Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. EOG Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 value of $76,867.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 43,532 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,891,185.56. This represents a 1.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey R. Leitzell sold 4,000 shares of EOG Resources stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 42,703 shares in the company, valued at $5,162,365.67. This trade represents a 8.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On EOG Resources

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in EOG Resources by 64.7% in 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 increased its stake in shares of EOG Resources by 856.7% in 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 buying an additional 1,075,334 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in EOG Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $106,990,000. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position 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 worth $609,300,000 after buying an additional 403,676 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in EOG Resources by 237.9% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 487,920 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock worth $61,741,000 after acquiring an additional 343,527 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.91% 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.