EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) Lowered to “Neutral” Rating by Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler lowered shares of EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) from an overweight rating to a neutral rating in a research note published on Monday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $149.00 target price on the energy exploration company’s stock, up from their previous target price of $147.00.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on EOG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on EOG Resources from $143.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of EOG Resources from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of EOG Resources from $159.00 to $158.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of EOG Resources from $144.00 to $137.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of EOG Resources from $157.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $142.30.

EOG Resources Stock Up 1.5 %

NYSE EOG opened at $136.54 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market cap of $76.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.99, a PEG ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a 50 day moving average of $126.57 and a 200-day moving average of $125.99. EOG Resources has a 1-year low of $108.94 and a 1-year high of $139.67.

EOG Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a dividend of $0.975 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $3.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. This is a boost from EOG Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. EOG Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.40%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Michael P. Donaldson sold 11,037 shares of EOG Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.50, for a total value of $1,429,291.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,615,375. The trade was a 12.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles R. Crisp sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.60, for a total value of $816,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 60,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,648,035.20. This trade represents a 9.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EOG. Capital World Investors raised its stake in EOG Resources by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 26,782,454 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock valued at $3,423,869,000 after acquiring an additional 1,361,538 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of 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 during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in shares of EOG Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $106,990,000. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in EOG Resources by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,564,463 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock worth $1,478,401,000 after buying an additional 766,056 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in EOG Resources by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,840,705 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock valued at $609,300,000 after buying an additional 403,676 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.