EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) Given “Sector Perform” Rating at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada restated their sector perform rating on shares of EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) in a research report report published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a $150.00 price objective on the energy exploration company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on EOG. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of EOG Resources from $167.00 to $154.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. KeyCorp dropped their target price on EOG Resources from $157.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Mizuho cut their target price on EOG Resources from $156.00 to $148.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Citigroup upped their price objective on EOG Resources from $127.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised 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. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.71.

EOG Resources Stock Down 0.2 %

EOG stock opened at $126.28 on Monday. EOG Resources has a 12 month low of $108.94 and a 12 month high of $139.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 2.31 and a quick ratio of 2.07. The company has a market cap of $71.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $127.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $126.57.

EOG Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a $0.975 dividend. This is an increase from EOG Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. EOG Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.40%.

EOG Resources declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, November 7th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the energy exploration company to buy up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at EOG Resources

In other EOG Resources news, Director Janet F. Clark sold 568 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was 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 directly owns 43,532 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,891,185.56. The trade was a 1.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey R. Leitzell sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 trade represents a 8.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EOG. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in EOG Resources in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of EOG Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of EOG Resources in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. HM Payson & Co. raised its position in shares of EOG Resources by 203.7% in the 3rd quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 328 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the period. Finally, Matrix Trust Co acquired a new position in EOG Resources in the third quarter valued at $43,000. 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.