EOG Resources, Inc. $EOG Stock: Conning Inc. Raises Stake

Conning Inc. increased its stake in EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG) by 1.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 261,432 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,666 shares during the quarter. Conning Inc.’s holdings in EOG Resources were worth $36,015,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in EOG Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $5,905,587,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in EOG Resources by 0.9% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,865,073 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock worth $848,228,000 after purchasing an additional 54,091 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of EOG Resources during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $654,899,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of EOG Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at $551,321,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in EOG Resources by 15.7% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,446,002 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock worth $498,189,000 after acquiring an additional 468,090 shares in the last quarter. 89.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EOG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $186.00 price target (up from $183.00) on shares of EOG Resources in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $150.00 price objective (up from $141.00) on shares of EOG Resources in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on EOG Resources in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $158.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on EOG Resources from $157.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 price target on shares of EOG Resources in a report on Saturday, October 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and seventeen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $161.24.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Ezra Y. Yacob sold 35,942 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 242,451 shares in the company, valued at $36,876,797.10. This trade represents a 12.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael P. Donaldson sold 7,336 shares of EOG Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $1,085,728.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 100,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,882,584. The trade was a 6.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 52,317 shares of company stock valued at $7,823,480. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

EOG Resources Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE EOG opened at $160.84 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $148.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $136.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.36. EOG Resources, Inc. has a 1 year low of $101.59 and a 1 year high of $165.11.

EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The energy exploration company reported $5.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.10. EOG Resources had a net margin of 25.44% and a return on equity of 23.44%. The company had revenue of $8.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.32 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 57.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that EOG Resources, Inc. will post 17.70 EPS for the current fiscal year.

EOG Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 16th. EOG Resources’s payout ratio is currently 31.75%.

About EOG Resources

EOG Resources, Inc is an independent exploration and production company engaged in finding, developing, producing and marketing crude oil, natural gas liquids and natural gas. Its operations focus on large, high-quality onshore and international assets, supported by technical expertise in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing.

The company’s principal U.S. activities are concentrated in major shale and onshore plays, including the Delaware Basin, Eagle Ford and other producing regions in Texas and the Rocky Mountains.