Royal Bank of Canada Reiterates Sector Perform Rating for EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG)

EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG)‘s stock had its “sector perform” rating reiterated by investment analysts at Royal Bank of Canada in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $150.00 price target on the energy exploration company’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 17.44% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. UBS Group cut their price target on EOG Resources from $167.00 to $154.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of EOG Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of EOG Resources from $127.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised EOG Resources from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $147.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on EOG Resources from $143.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.71.

EOG Resources Stock Performance

Shares of EOG stock opened at $127.72 on Monday. EOG Resources has a 1 year low of $108.94 and a 1 year high of $139.67. 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 has a market cap of $71.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.28, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $127.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $126.61.

EOG Resources announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, November 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the energy exploration company to reacquire up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Jeffrey R. Leitzell sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.89, for a total transaction of $483,560.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 42,703 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,162,365.67. This trade represents a 8.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Janet F. Clark sold 568 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.33, for a total value of $76,867.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 43,532 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,891,185.56. The trade was a 1.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EOG Resources

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of EOG. DRW Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of EOG Resources by 98.6% during the 3rd quarter. DRW Securities LLC now owns 26,838 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock worth $3,299,000 after buying an additional 13,324 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of EOG Resources by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 12,112 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock worth $1,489,000 after purchasing an additional 862 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in EOG Resources during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $730,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. raised its holdings in EOG Resources by 3,976.8% in the second quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 10,885 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock valued at $1,370,000 after buying an additional 10,618 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position in EOG Resources by 11.4% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 119,132 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock valued at $14,645,000 after buying an additional 12,210 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.91% of the company’s stock.

EOG Resources Company Profile

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.