EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) Upgraded by Zacks Research to Strong-Buy Rating

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) from a "hold" to a strong-buy, and several firms raised target prices; the consensus rating is a Moderate Buy with a $153.68 average target.
• EOG beat quarterly expectations with EPS of $2.27 (est. $2.20) and revenue of $5.64B (est. $5.36B), and the company trades at a market cap of $74.48B and a PE of 15.26.
• Insiders including the CFO and COO have sold stock recently—18,230 shares worth $2.52M over the past three months—while institutional ownership is very high at about 89.9%.

EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

EOG has been the topic of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on EOG Resources from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. 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. Capital One Financial upped their target price on EOG Resources from $130.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Stephens upped their target price on EOG Resources from $139.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Susquehanna upped their target price on EOG Resources from $144.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and seventeen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $153.68.

EOG Resources Stock Performance

Shares of EOG stock opened at $139.03 on Tuesday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $134.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $117.44. The company has a market cap of $74.48 billion, a PE ratio of 15.26, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. EOG Resources has a 12-month low of $101.59 and a 12-month high of $151.87.

EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 18.67% and a net margin of 22.00%.The business had revenue of $5.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.74 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that EOG Resources will post 14.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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 directly owned 100,246 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,038,449.84. This represents a 3.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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 approximately $13,234,924.40. The trade was a 6.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 18,230 shares of company stock worth $2,522,568. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rockland Trust Co. lifted its stake in EOG Resources by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 246,326 shares of the energy exploration company's stock worth $27,618,000 after purchasing an additional 11,965 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in EOG Resources by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,394,236 shares of the energy exploration company's stock worth $380,562,000 after purchasing an additional 68,888 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its stake in EOG Resources by 21.0% in the 3rd quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 65,820 shares of the energy exploration company's stock worth $7,380,000 after purchasing an additional 11,442 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its stake in EOG Resources by 1,413.5% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 25,533 shares of the energy exploration company's stock worth $2,863,000 after purchasing an additional 23,846 shares in the last quarter. Finally, L2 Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in EOG Resources by 69.6% in the 3rd quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 19,355 shares of the energy exploration company's stock worth $2,170,000 after purchasing an additional 7,940 shares in the last quarter. 89.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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