Benjamin Edwards Inc. Decreases Stake in EOG Resources, Inc. $EOG

Key Points

• Benjamin Edwards Inc. reduced its stake in EOG Resources by 19.4% in Q4, selling 67,394 shares and retaining 280,634 shares (about $29.47 million, ~0.05% ownership).
• EOG beat Q4 EPS expectations with $2.27 vs. $2.20 and $5.64 billion in revenue, recently paid a $1.02 quarterly dividend (annualized $4.08, ~2.9% yield), and holds a MarketBeat consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a $153.68 target.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. reduced its holdings in EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG - Free Report) by 19.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 280,634 shares of the energy exploration company's stock after selling 67,394 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of EOG Resources worth $29,474,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Sandro Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of EOG Resources in the fourth quarter worth about $285,000. Horizon Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of EOG Resources by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 42,559 shares of the energy exploration company's stock worth $4,427,000 after buying an additional 783 shares in the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of EOG Resources by 41.1% in the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 6,288 shares of the energy exploration company's stock worth $660,000 after buying an additional 1,831 shares in the last quarter. Secured Retirement Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of EOG Resources by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Secured Retirement Advisors LLC now owns 2,527 shares of the energy exploration company's stock worth $265,000 after buying an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of EOG Resources in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. 89.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

EOG Resources Stock Down 1.1%

EOG Resources stock opened at $139.09 on Friday. EOG Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $101.59 and a fifty-two week high of $151.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.63. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $134.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $117.66. The company has a market capitalization of $74.51 billion, a PE ratio of 15.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.27.

EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The energy exploration company reported $2.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.07. EOG Resources had a net margin of 22.00% and a return on equity of 18.67%. The firm had revenue of $5.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.74 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that EOG Resources, Inc. will post 14.75 earnings per share for the current year.

EOG Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 16th were paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 16th. EOG Resources's dividend payout ratio is presently 44.79%.

Insider Activity at EOG Resources

In related news, COO Jeffrey R. Leitzell sold 5,698 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 31st. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $13,234,924.40. This represents a 6.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Ann D. Janssen sold 4,161 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 18,230 shares of company stock worth $2,522,568. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of EOG Resources from $123.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wolfe Research raised their price target on shares of EOG Resources from $152.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of EOG Resources from $133.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of EOG Resources from $139.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of EOG Resources from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and seventeen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, EOG Resources currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $153.68.

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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