EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on EOG. Wolfe Research raised EOG Resources from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $143.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised EOG Resources from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $147.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of EOG Resources in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of EOG Resources from $144.00 to $137.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of EOG Resources from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.48.

EOG Resources Stock Performance

EOG opened at $136.09 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $76.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 2.31 and a quick ratio of 2.07. EOG Resources has a 1-year low of $108.94 and a 1-year high of $139.67. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $129.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $127.14.

EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The energy exploration company reported $2.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.73 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $5.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.03 billion. EOG Resources had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 29.18%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.44 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that EOG Resources will post 11.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Activity at EOG Resources

In related news, COO Jeffrey R. Leitzell sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.89, for a total value of $483,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 42,703 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,162,365.67. This trade represents a 8.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $76,867.44. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 43,532 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,891,185.56. The trade was a 1.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. increased 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 worth $694,717,000 after buying an additional 2,076,134 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake 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. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in shares of EOG Resources during the second quarter valued at approximately $106,990,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in EOG Resources by 577.8% in 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 acquiring an additional 593,823 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in EOG Resources by 9.1% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,840,705 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock valued at $609,300,000 after acquiring an additional 403,676 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.91% of the company’s stock.

EOG Resources Company 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.