EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) Shares Gap Up After Analyst Upgrade

EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Friday after Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on the stock from $144.00 to $148.00. The stock had previously closed at $120.59, but opened at $125.24. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. EOG Resources shares last traded at $124.68, with a volume of 1,461,948 shares.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered EOG Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $140.00 price objective (up previously from $135.00) on shares of EOG Resources in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of EOG Resources from $161.00 to $156.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Scotiabank raised shares of EOG Resources from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $150.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of EOG Resources from $135.00 to $133.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, EOG Resources has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other EOG Resources news, COO Jeffrey R. Leitzell sold 4,037 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.76, for a total value of $515,767.12. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 47,732 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,098,240.32. This trade represents a 7.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EOG Resources

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in EOG Resources by 0.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,981,854 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock valued at $6,922,633,000 after acquiring an additional 348,895 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of EOG Resources by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 45,919,327 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock valued at $5,628,497,000 after purchasing an additional 2,270,013 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in EOG Resources by 6.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,188,552 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in EOG Resources by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,549,802 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock valued at $1,541,282,000 after acquiring an additional 234,067 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of EOG Resources by 6.3% during the 1st 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. 89.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

EOG Resources Stock Up 4.1%

The company has a market capitalization of $68.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a current ratio of 2.31. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $111.99 and its 200-day moving average is $121.90.

EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The energy exploration company reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.75 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $5.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.92 billion. EOG Resources had a net margin of 29.18% and a return on equity of 23.77%. The company’s revenue was down 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that EOG Resources, Inc. will post 11.47 EPS for the current year.

EOG Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This is a boost from EOG Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 17th. 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.