Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG)

EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders bought 39,002 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 803% compared to the average daily volume of 4,321 call options.

Insider Activity at EOG Resources

In other news, Director Janet F. Clark sold 568 shares of the business’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 sale, the director now directly owns 43,532 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,891,185.56. The trade was a 1.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey R. Leitzell sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.89, for a total value of $483,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 42,703 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of EOG Resources

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EOG. Smart Money Group LLC increased its position in shares of EOG Resources by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Smart Money Group LLC now owns 4,827 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock valued at $592,000 after buying an additional 346 shares during the period. Ellsworth Advisors LLC grew its stake in EOG Resources by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 13,665 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock valued at $1,675,000 after acquiring an additional 633 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust increased its holdings in EOG Resources by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 928 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock worth $114,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in EOG Resources in the 4th quarter valued at $1,218,000. Finally, My Legacy Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of EOG Resources by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. My Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 6,428 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock worth $788,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of EOG Resources in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of EOG Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 11th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of EOG Resources from $149.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of EOG Resources from $167.00 to $154.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $144.00 target price (down previously from $151.00) on shares of EOG Resources in a research note on Monday. Thirteen equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, EOG Resources presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.48.

EOG Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EOG traded up $0.30 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $137.36. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,082,361 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,158,174. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 1.29. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $128.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $126.84. EOG Resources has a one year low of $108.94 and a one year high of $139.67.

EOG Resources Increases Dividend

The business 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 2.84%. This is an increase from EOG Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. EOG Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.40%.

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

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.