EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) Downgraded to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of EOG Resources from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on EOG Resources from $134.00 to $132.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Mizuho decreased their target price on EOG Resources from $156.00 to $148.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Raymond James lifted their price target on EOG Resources from $156.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on EOG Resources from $144.00 to $137.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.48.

EOG Resources Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE:EOG traded up $1.86 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $126.57. The company had a trading volume of 3,012,019 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,966,260. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 2.31 and a quick ratio of 2.07. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $127.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $126.39. The company has a market capitalization of $71.19 billion, a PE ratio of 10.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.29. EOG Resources has a 52 week low of $108.94 and a 52 week high of $139.67.

EOG Resources declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 7th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the energy exploration company to buy up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction, the director now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey R. Leitzell sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.89, for a total transaction of $483,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 42,703 shares in the company, valued at $5,162,365.67. This represents a 8.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of EOG Resources

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Everence Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in EOG Resources by 73.7% during the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 30,780 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock valued at $3,773,000 after buying an additional 13,060 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of EOG Resources by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,609 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock worth $1,055,000 after purchasing an additional 594 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in EOG Resources by 81.3% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,131 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock worth $139,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares during the period. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. lifted its position in EOG Resources by 11.3% during the third quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 7,600 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock valued at $934,000 after purchasing an additional 772 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in EOG Resources by 64.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,284,228 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock valued at $694,717,000 after purchasing an additional 2,076,134 shares during the period. 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.