EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts give EOG a consensus recommendation of Hold from 29 analysts (17 hold, 11 buy, 1 strong buy), with an average 12‑month target price of $135.31.
• Several brokerages recently revised targets—Jefferies raised to $146, BMO and Wolfe to $140, while Barclays trimmed its target to $133—showing mixed but generally constructive analyst momentum.
• COO Jeffrey Leitzell sold 2,000 shares at about $130 and insiders sold 7,774 shares last quarter (insider ownership 0.13%), and the company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.02 per share (annualized $4.08, ~3.1% yield).

Shares of EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the twenty-nine analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $135.3077.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on EOG. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on EOG Resources from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on EOG Resources from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays reduced their price target on EOG Resources from $136.00 to $133.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Roth Mkm reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of EOG Resources in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research upped their price objective on EOG Resources from $137.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Jeffrey R. Leitzell sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $260,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 88,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,445,850. This trade represents a 2.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 7,774 shares of company stock worth $945,895 in the last quarter. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EOG Resources

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EOG. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in EOG Resources by 64.1% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,728,128 shares of the energy exploration company's stock worth $445,921,000 after acquiring an additional 1,456,928 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in EOG Resources by 24.2% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,443,453 shares of the energy exploration company's stock valued at $676,627,000 after acquiring an additional 1,257,110 shares during the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its stake in EOG Resources by 282.3% in the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 1,546,058 shares of the energy exploration company's stock worth $184,924,000 after purchasing an additional 1,141,680 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in EOG Resources by 474.7% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,318,254 shares of the energy exploration company's stock worth $138,430,000 after purchasing an additional 1,088,867 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of EOG Resources by 23.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,669,969 shares of the energy exploration company's stock worth $490,394,000 after purchasing an additional 901,897 shares during the last quarter. 89.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

EOG Resources Stock Performance

Shares of EOG stock opened at $131.74 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $113.78 and a 200 day moving average of $112.16. EOG Resources has a 1 year low of $101.59 and a 1 year high of $134.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.46 and a beta of 0.44.

EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The energy exploration company reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.07. EOG Resources had a net margin of 22.00% and a return on equity of 18.67%. The company had revenue of $5.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.36 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.74 EPS. EOG Resources's revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that EOG Resources will post 11.47 earnings per share for the current year.

EOG Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. EOG Resources's dividend payout ratio is 44.79%.

About EOG Resources

EOG Resources, Inc NYSE: EOG is an independent exploration and production company headquartered in Houston, Texas. Tracing its corporate origins to Enron Oil & Gas Company in the late 1990s, the company established itself as a stand‑alone E&P operator and has grown into one of the largest U.S. upstream producers. EOG focuses on the exploration, development and production of crude oil, condensate, natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs).

As an upstream-focused company, EOG's core activities include geologic and geophysical exploration, drilling and completion of wells, reservoir development, and the marketing of hydrocarbon production.

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