apricus wealth LLC Acquires Shares of 1,702 EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG)

apricus wealth LLC acquired a new position in EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,702 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of EOG. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in EOG Resources during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of EOG Resources during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of EOG Resources in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in EOG Resources in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, HM Payson & Co. lifted its position in EOG Resources by 203.7% during the third quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 328 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.91% of the company’s stock.

EOG Resources Stock Performance

EOG Resources stock opened at $131.73 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $129.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $127.31. The company has a current ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. EOG Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $108.94 and a 52 week high of $139.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.61, a PEG ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 1.29.

EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The energy exploration company reported $2.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.73 by $0.16. EOG Resources had a net margin of 29.18% and a return on equity of 23.77%. The firm had revenue of $5.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.44 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that EOG Resources, Inc. will post 11.45 earnings per share for the current year.

EOG Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a $0.975 dividend. This represents a $3.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.96%. This is an increase from EOG Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. EOG Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.40%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on EOG. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on EOG Resources from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of EOG Resources from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of EOG Resources in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of EOG Resources from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $147.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, StockNews.com raised EOG Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.86.

Insider Transactions at EOG Resources

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