Benchmark Reaffirms Hold Rating for EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG)

EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reissued by Benchmark in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports.

EOG has been the subject of a number of other reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of EOG Resources in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on EOG Resources from $156.00 to $148.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised EOG Resources from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $147.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Wolfe Research raised EOG Resources from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $143.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of EOG Resources from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.48.

EOG Resources Price Performance

Shares of EOG stock traded up $1.41 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $132.82. 320,075 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,800,542. The company has a quick ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. EOG Resources has a 52-week low of $108.94 and a 52-week high of $139.67. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $127.97 and a 200 day moving average of $126.70. The company has a market cap of $74.70 billion, a PE ratio of 10.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 1.29.

EOG Resources declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, November 7th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the energy exploration company to repurchase up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other EOG Resources news, Director Janet F. Clark sold 568 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.33, for a total value of $76,867.44. Following the sale, the director now owns 43,532 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,891,185.56. This trade represents a 1.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Jeffrey R. Leitzell sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.89, for a total value of $483,560.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 42,703 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,162,365.67. This represents a 8.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EOG Resources

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EOG. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of EOG Resources by 64.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,284,228 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock worth $694,717,000 after acquiring an additional 2,076,134 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in EOG Resources by 856.7% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,200,851 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock valued at $147,621,000 after purchasing an additional 1,075,334 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in EOG Resources in the second quarter valued at approximately $106,990,000. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in EOG Resources by 9.1% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,840,705 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock worth $609,300,000 after purchasing an additional 403,676 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of EOG Resources by 42.8% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,113,429 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock worth $136,874,000 after buying an additional 333,947 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.91% of the company’s stock.

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.