Investors Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG)

EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG) was the target of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Investors purchased 39,002 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 803% compared to the average daily volume of 4,321 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on EOG shares. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $144.00 price objective (down from $151.00) on shares of EOG Resources in a report on Monday. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on EOG Resources from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Raymond James increased their price objective on EOG Resources from $156.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. KeyCorp reduced their target price on EOG Resources from $157.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of EOG Resources in a report on Monday, January 6th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.48.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Jeffrey R. Leitzell sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 42,703 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,162,365.67. This trade represents a 8.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Janet F. Clark sold 568 shares of EOG Resources stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 43,532 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,891,185.56. This trade represents a 1.29 % 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 Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Insight Inv LLC raised its stake in shares of EOG Resources by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 9,385 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock valued at $1,154,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Cape ANN Savings Bank raised its position in EOG Resources by 0.9% in the third quarter. Cape ANN Savings Bank now owns 8,679 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock worth $1,067,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC raised its position in EOG Resources by 3.6% in the third quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 2,380 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its stake in EOG Resources by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 2,921 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock worth $358,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in EOG Resources by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 928 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. 89.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

EOG Resources Stock Up 0.7 %

EOG stock opened at $138.03 on Friday. EOG Resources has a twelve month low of $108.94 and a twelve month high of $139.67. The company has a quick ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market cap of $77.63 billion, a PE ratio of 11.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $128.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $126.92.

EOG Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.975 per share. This represents a $3.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This is a positive change from EOG Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. EOG Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.40%.

EOG Resources declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share 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 purchase up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.