EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG) Shares Sold by Bahl & Gaynor Inc.

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. cut its holdings in EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG) by 18.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,556 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock after selling 2,600 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in EOG Resources were worth $1,417,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Stephens Inc. AR increased its holdings in EOG Resources by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 5,083 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock valued at $625,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in EOG Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at $47,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in EOG Resources by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 38,231 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock valued at $4,768,000 after purchasing an additional 654 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in EOG Resources by 193.4% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 222,205 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock valued at $27,316,000 after purchasing an additional 146,460 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service increased its holdings in EOG Resources by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,271,596 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock valued at $156,317,000 after purchasing an additional 159,452 shares in the last quarter. 89.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded EOG Resources from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $147.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com cut shares of EOG Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of EOG Resources from $165.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of EOG Resources from $156.00 to $148.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of EOG Resources from $143.00 to $142.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, EOG Resources has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $146.10.

Insider Activity at EOG Resources

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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 42,703 shares in the company, valued at $5,162,365.67. This trade represents a 8.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

EOG Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EOG opened at $122.21 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $129.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $127.80. EOG Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.40 and a 52 week high of $139.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.84, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.27. 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 (NYSE:EOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 28th. The energy exploration company reported $2.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.19. EOG Resources had a net margin of 29.18% and a return on equity of 23.77%. The business had revenue of $5.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.96 billion. Analysts anticipate that EOG Resources, Inc. will post 11.47 earnings per share for the current year.

EOG Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.975 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 16th. This represents a $3.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.19%. EOG Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.73%.

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

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.