EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) Stock Gets Price Target Increase from Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley raised EOG Resources’ price target from $157 to $163 while maintaining an “equal weight” rating, implying 6.46% potential upside.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $160.56; EOG recently traded at $153.12.
• EOG reported quarterly EPS of $5.07, beating estimates, while revenue rose 57.4% year over year to $8.62 billion. Insiders sold about $7.8 million of stock over the past three months.

EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG - Get Free Report) had its target price raised by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $157.00 to $163.00 in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "equal weight" rating on the energy exploration company's stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 6.46% from the company's current price.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on EOG. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and set a $186.00 price objective (up from $183.00) on shares of EOG Resources in a report on Thursday, September 17th. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on shares of EOG Resources in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. They set a "hold" rating and a $158.00 target price on the stock. Barclays set a $147.00 target price on shares of EOG Resources and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of EOG Resources from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Finally, Scotiabank began coverage on EOG Resources in a research note on Wednesday. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $144.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eighteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $160.56.

EOG Resources Price Performance

EOG Resources stock traded down $1.07 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $153.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 814,348 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,034,863. EOG Resources has a fifty-two week low of $101.59 and a fifty-two week high of $155.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 1.85. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $145.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $140.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.31 billion, a PE ratio of 11.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.36.

EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The energy exploration company reported $5.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $8.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.04 billion. EOG Resources had a net margin of 25.44% and a return on equity of 23.44%. The business's revenue was up 57.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.32 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that EOG Resources will post 17.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at EOG Resources

In related news, COO Jeffrey Leitzell sold 9,039 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.61, for a total value of $1,270,973.79. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 90,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,765,981.90. This represents a 9.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Ezra Yacob sold 35,942 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.10, for a total transaction of $5,466,778.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 242,451 shares of the company's stock, valued at $36,876,797.10. This trade represents a 12.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 52,317 shares of company stock valued at $7,823,480. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of EOG Resources

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in EOG Resources by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 79,356 shares of the energy exploration company's stock worth $10,932,000 after purchasing an additional 5,738 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. increased its holdings in EOG Resources by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 8,623 shares of the energy exploration company's stock valued at $1,188,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its holdings in EOG Resources by 49.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 500 shares of the energy exploration company's stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Columbus Macro LLC increased its holdings in EOG Resources by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Columbus Macro LLC now owns 2,153 shares of the energy exploration company's stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Union Savings Bank raised its position in EOG Resources by 3.2% in the third quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 3,404 shares of the energy exploration company's stock valued at $469,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. 89.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About EOG Resources

EOG Resources, Inc is an independent exploration and production company engaged in finding, developing, producing and marketing crude oil, natural gas liquids and natural gas. The company focuses on large-scale, onshore assets and applies drilling, completion and other technologies to develop unconventional oil and natural gas resources.

EOG's principal operations are located in the United States, including the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico, the Eagle Ford in South Texas and the Rocky Mountain region.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.