EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) Given New $155.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley raised its price target on EOG to $155 (from $128) and kept an "equal weight" rating, implying roughly a 3.6% upside from the prior close.
• EOG beat quarterly expectations with EPS of $2.27 (vs. $2.20 est.) and revenue of $5.64B (vs. $5.36B), and the stock traded at $149.59—near its 12‑month high—with a market cap of $80.25B and a P/E of 16.43.
• Analyst coverage is mixed: the consensus rating is "Hold" with a $139.52 consensus target despite several firms raising targets, and insiders have sold about $1.88M of stock in the last 90 days.

EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG - Get Free Report) had its price target boosted by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $128.00 to $155.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the energy exploration company's stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 3.62% from the company's previous close.

EOG has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of EOG Resources from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. KeyCorp cut EOG Resources from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on EOG Resources from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of EOG Resources in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on EOG Resources from $141.00 to $149.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and eighteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $139.52.

EOG Resources Stock Performance

EOG stock traded up $2.10 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $149.59. 1,551,381 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,350,892. EOG Resources has a 12 month low of $101.59 and a 12 month high of $150.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $122.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $113.66.

EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The energy exploration company reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analysts' expectations of $5.36 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.74 earnings per share. EOG Resources's quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that EOG Resources will post 11.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at EOG Resources

In other news, COO Jeffrey R. Leitzell sold 2,000 shares of EOG Resources stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $260,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 88,045 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,445,850. This trade represents a 2.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Ann D. Janssen sold 4,161 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.04, for a total transaction of $582,706.44. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 100,246 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,038,449.84. The trade was a 3.99% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 14,532 shares of company stock valued at $1,877,405. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On EOG Resources

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cullen Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of EOG Resources by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC now owns 576,470 shares of the energy exploration company's stock valued at $68,952,000 after purchasing an additional 25,753 shares during the period. Rockland Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of EOG Resources by 5.1% during the third quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 246,326 shares of the energy exploration company's stock valued at $27,618,000 after purchasing an additional 11,965 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its holdings in shares of EOG Resources by 21.0% during the third quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 65,820 shares of the energy exploration company's stock valued at $7,380,000 after purchasing an additional 11,442 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of EOG Resources by 2.1% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,394,236 shares of the energy exploration company's stock valued at $380,562,000 after purchasing an additional 68,888 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Railway Pension Investments Ltd boosted its position in shares of EOG Resources by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd now owns 449,100 shares of the energy exploration company's stock worth $53,717,000 after purchasing an additional 28,800 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.91% of the company's stock.

EOG Resources Company Profile

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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