Barings LLC Trims Stake in EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG)

Key Points

• Barings LLC has reduced its holdings in EOG Resources, Inc. by 24.6%, now owning 60,352 shares valued at approximately $7.74 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• EOG Resources recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.02 per share, marking an increase from its previous dividend of $0.98, with a yield of 3.5%.
• The stock currently holds an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with a price target of $140.62, reflecting varied opinions among equity research firms.

Barings LLC decreased its holdings in EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG - Free Report) by 24.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 60,352 shares of the energy exploration company's stock after selling 19,727 shares during the quarter. Barings LLC's holdings in EOG Resources were worth $7,740,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in shares of EOG Resources during the first quarter valued at $26,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of EOG Resources during the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of EOG Resources during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. 10Elms LLP acquired a new position in shares of EOG Resources during the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management acquired a new position in EOG Resources in the 1st quarter worth approximately $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at EOG Resources

In related news, COO Jeffrey R. Leitzell sold 3,951 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.65, for a total transaction of $472,737.15. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 45,739 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,472,671.35. The trade was a 7.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EOG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays upped their price objective on EOG Resources from $137.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Morgan Stanley set a $135.00 target price on EOG Resources and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. KeyCorp cut their price objective on EOG Resources from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Scotiabank raised EOG Resources from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $150.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on EOG Resources from $145.00 to $140.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $140.62.

EOG Resources Trading Down 2.8%

EOG stock traded down $3.38 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $116.64. The stock had a trading volume of 2,688,978 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,964,615. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $118.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $120.41. EOG Resources, Inc. has a 1-year low of $102.52 and a 1-year high of $138.18. The firm has a market cap of $63.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.96 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The energy exploration company reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.75 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $5.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.92 billion. EOG Resources had a net margin of 26.14% and a return on equity of 22.35%. The company's revenue was down 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.82 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that EOG Resources, Inc. will post 11.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EOG Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 17th will be issued a $1.02 dividend. This is a boost from EOG Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 17th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. EOG Resources's payout ratio is 36.18%.

About EOG Resources

EOG Resources, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, explores for, develops, produces, and markets crude oil, natural gas liquids, and natural gas primarily in producing basins in the United States, the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and internationally. The company was formerly known as Enron Oil & Gas Company.