Melius Research Initiates Coverage on EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG)

Key Points

• Melius Research has initiated coverage on EOG Resources with a "buy" rating and a price target of $173.00, indicating a potential upside of 47.66% from the current stock price.
• The stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with one Strong Buy, eleven Buy, and eleven Hold ratings.
• EOG Resources reported $2.32 EPS for the latest quarter, beating analysts' estimates, but its quarterly revenue was down 9.1% year-over-year.

Equities researchers at Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG - Get Free Report) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage set a "buy" rating and a $173.00 price target on the energy exploration company's stock. Melius Research's target price would suggest a potential upside of 47.66% from the company's previous close.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on EOG. Melius started coverage on shares of EOG Resources in a research report on Wednesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $173.00 price target for the company. Roth Capital cut EOG Resources from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $140.00 to $134.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $148.00 price target (up from $144.00) on shares of EOG Resources in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on EOG Resources from $125.00 to $124.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating on shares of EOG Resources in a report on Sunday, June 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $143.52.

EOG Resources Price Performance

NYSE:EOG traded down $0.16 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $117.16. The stock had a trading volume of 246,940 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,603,342. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.40, a P/E/G ratio of 9.03 and a beta of 0.80. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $120.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $119.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 1.79. EOG Resources has a one year low of $102.52 and a one year high of $138.18.

EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The energy exploration company reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $5.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.45 billion. EOG Resources had a net margin of 25.25% and a return on equity of 20.51%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.16 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that EOG Resources will post 11.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at EOG Resources

In other news, COO Jeffrey R. Leitzell sold 3,951 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.65, for a total value of $472,737.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 45,739 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,472,671.35. This represents a 7.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On EOG Resources

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of EOG Resources by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,981,854 shares of the energy exploration company's stock worth $6,922,633,000 after acquiring an additional 348,895 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of EOG Resources by 6.5% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,380,866 shares of the energy exploration company's stock valued at $2,485,402,000 after purchasing an additional 1,188,552 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in shares of EOG Resources by 4.2% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 6,159,281 shares of the energy exploration company's stock valued at $736,712,000 after purchasing an additional 249,984 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of EOG Resources by 6.3% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,077,928 shares of the energy exploration company's stock valued at $779,433,000 after purchasing an additional 358,916 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of EOG Resources by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,530,260 shares of the energy exploration company's stock worth $709,201,000 after purchasing an additional 60,454 shares in the last quarter. 89.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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