Wells Fargo & Company Increases EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) Price Target to $147.00

EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) had its price target lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $135.00 to $147.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the energy exploration company’s stock.

EOG has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on EOG Resources from $159.00 to $158.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. StockNews.com downgraded EOG Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 16th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on EOG Resources from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of EOG Resources from $157.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on shares of EOG Resources in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $144.00.

EOG Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EOG opened at $136.35 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $76.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $127.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $126.15. The company has a current ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. EOG Resources has a 1-year low of $108.94 and a 1-year high of $139.67.

EOG Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a $0.975 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $3.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. This is an increase from EOG Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. EOG Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.31%.

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

Insider Activity at EOG Resources

In other news, Director Janet F. Clark sold 568 shares of EOG Resources stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was 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 directly owns 43,532 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this link. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On EOG Resources

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EOG. Caprock Group LLC lifted its stake in EOG Resources by 7.7% in the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 12,112 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock worth $1,489,000 after acquiring an additional 862 shares during the period. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of EOG Resources by 3,976.8% in the 2nd quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 10,885 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock valued at $1,370,000 after purchasing an additional 10,618 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of EOG Resources by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 119,132 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock worth $14,645,000 after purchasing an additional 12,210 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of EOG Resources by 44.2% during the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 10,603 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock valued at $1,303,000 after purchasing an additional 3,251 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in EOG Resources by 67.3% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 843,682 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock valued at $107,856,000 after buying an additional 339,480 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.