EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• EOG Resources has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from 31 research firms, with an average 12-month price target of about $154.38.
• The company reported strong first-quarter earnings, posting EPS of $3.41 versus estimates of $3.23 and revenue of $6.92 billion, up 22.1% year over year.
• EOG also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.02 per share payable July 31, which annualizes to $4.08 per share and a yield of about 2.9%.

EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the thirty-one research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, thirteen have issued a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $154.3793.

A number of research firms have commented on EOG. Wall Street Zen raised shares of EOG Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of EOG Resources from $146.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of EOG Resources from $144.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of EOG Resources from $145.00 to $148.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Stephens decreased their target price on shares of EOG Resources from $170.00 to $167.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th.

EOG Resources Trading Down 1.8%

NYSE EOG opened at $141.71 on Thursday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $137.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $120.29. EOG Resources has a 12 month low of $101.59 and a 12 month high of $151.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 1.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.95 and a beta of 0.27.

EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The energy exploration company reported $3.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.23 by $0.18. EOG Resources had a net margin of 23.01% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The company had revenue of $6.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.87 earnings per share. EOG Resources's revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that EOG Resources will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

EOG Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 17th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 17th. EOG Resources's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.16%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Ann D. Janssen sold 4,161 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.04, for a total transaction of $582,706.44. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 100,246 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,038,449.84. This represents a 3.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey R. Leitzell sold 5,698 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.32, for a total transaction of $856,523.36. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 88,045 shares in the company, valued at $13,234,924.40. This represents a 6.08% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 16,230 shares of company stock worth $2,272,568 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of EOG Resources

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EOG. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in EOG Resources in the second quarter valued at approximately $258,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in EOG Resources in the second quarter valued at approximately $349,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its holdings in EOG Resources by 216.1% in the second quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 6,560 shares of the energy exploration company's stock valued at $785,000 after acquiring an additional 4,485 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in EOG Resources by 2.0% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 22,780 shares of the energy exploration company's stock valued at $2,725,000 after acquiring an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in EOG Resources by 4.4% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 362,446 shares of the energy exploration company's stock valued at $43,356,000 after acquiring an additional 15,250 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.91% of the company's stock.

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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