EOG Resources’ (EOG) “Hold” Rating Reaffirmed at Benchmark

Benchmark reissued their hold rating on shares of EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) in a research report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on EOG. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of EOG Resources from $167.00 to $154.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on EOG Resources from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of EOG Resources in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $144.00 price target (down previously from $151.00) on shares of EOG Resources in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wolfe Research raised EOG Resources from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $143.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, EOG Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.48.

EOG Resources Stock Performance

Shares of EOG opened at $134.51 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $75.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 1.29. EOG Resources has a 52-week low of $108.94 and a 52-week 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $128.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $126.77.

EOG Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a $0.975 dividend. This is a boost from EOG Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $3.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. EOG Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.40%.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Jeffrey R. Leitzell sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 represents a 8.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $76,867.44. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 43,532 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,891,185.56. This represents a 1.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in EOG Resources by 631.2% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 94,590 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock valued at $11,906,000 after acquiring an additional 81,654 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of EOG Resources by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,888 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock worth $741,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its position in shares of EOG Resources by 185.4% during the 2nd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 1,627 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock worth $205,000 after purchasing an additional 1,057 shares during the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC lifted its stake in EOG Resources by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 30,234 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock valued at $3,806,000 after buying an additional 1,190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waycross Partners LLC grew its holdings in EOG Resources by 13.1% during the 2nd quarter. Waycross Partners LLC now owns 84,965 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock valued at $10,695,000 after buying an additional 9,847 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.