EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) Cut to Neutral at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler cut shares of EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) from an overweight rating to a neutral rating in a research report released on Monday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $149.00 target price on the energy exploration company’s stock, up from their previous target price of $147.00.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of EOG Resources from $143.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Barclays reduced their target price on EOG Resources from $144.00 to $137.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on EOG Resources from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. KeyCorp reduced their price target on 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, Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of EOG Resources in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, EOG Resources has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $142.30.

EOG Resources Price Performance

Shares of EOG Resources stock opened at $136.23 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $76.62 billion, a PE ratio of 10.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $127.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $126.10. The company has a quick ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. EOG Resources has a 12-month low of $108.94 and a 12-month high of $139.67.

EOG Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued 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 a positive change from EOG Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. EOG Resources’s payout ratio is currently 29.31%.

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

Insider Transactions at EOG Resources

In other EOG Resources news, EVP Michael P. Donaldson sold 11,037 shares of EOG Resources stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.50, for a total transaction of $1,429,291.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,615,375. The trade was a 12.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Janet F. Clark sold 568 shares of EOG Resources stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.33, for a total value of $76,867.44. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 43,532 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,891,185.56. This trade represents a 1.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of EOG Resources

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Davis R M Inc. acquired a new stake in EOG Resources in the 1st quarter valued at $201,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its position in shares of EOG Resources by 228.4% in the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 15,626 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock valued at $1,998,000 after purchasing an additional 10,868 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC increased its stake in shares of EOG Resources by 66.9% during the first quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,896 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock worth $370,000 after purchasing an additional 1,161 shares in the last quarter. Pitcairn Co. raised its position in shares of EOG Resources by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 4,903 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock worth $627,000 after purchasing an additional 526 shares during the last quarter. Finally, InterOcean Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in EOG Resources by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. InterOcean Capital Group LLC now owns 5,006 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock valued at $640,000 after buying an additional 454 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.