EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at Stifel Nicolaus

Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on shares of EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage issued a hold rating and a $158.00 price objective on the energy exploration company’s stock.

EOG has been the subject of several other research reports. Freedom Capital lowered EOG Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Mizuho set a $157.00 price target on shares of EOG Resources and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of EOG Resources from $168.00 to $158.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $193.00 price objective (down from $196.00) on shares of EOG Resources in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $175.00 target price (up from $170.00) on shares of EOG Resources in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and eighteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $157.07.

EOG Resources Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of EOG stock opened at $147.27 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $143.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $138.10. EOG Resources has a 12-month low of $101.59 and a 12-month high of $153.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market cap of $77.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.26.

EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The energy exploration company reported $5.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $8.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.04 billion. EOG Resources had a return on equity of 23.44% and a net margin of 25.44%.The company’s revenue was up 57.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.32 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that EOG Resources will post 16.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

EOG Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Investors of record on Friday, October 16th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 16th. EOG Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other EOG Resources news, CEO Ezra Yacob sold 35,942 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.10, for a total value of $5,466,778.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 242,451 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,876,797.10. The trade was a 12.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EOG. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in EOG Resources by 14.8% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 26,193 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock valued at $3,398,000 after buying an additional 3,373 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its position in EOG Resources by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,956,669 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock valued at $253,839,000 after buying an additional 9,738 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in EOG Resources in the 2nd quarter worth $587,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new stake in EOG Resources in the 2nd quarter worth $1,300,000. Finally, Cidel Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of EOG Resources by 3.6% in the second quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,089 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock valued at $1,049,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares during the period. 89.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About EOG Resources

EOG Resources, Inc is an independent exploration and production company focused on finding, developing and producing crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its operations are concentrated primarily in the United States, with a portfolio of onshore assets in several major producing regions.

The company’s principal U.S. positions include the Delaware Basin and other areas of the Permian Basin, the Eagle Ford and Dorado plays in South Texas, and the Rocky Mountain region. EOG also has international operations in Trinidad and Tobago, where it produces natural gas and supports related energy development.

EOG traces its history to Enron Oil & Gas Company, which was established in 1990.