EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) Price Target Raised to $175.00 at Raymond James

EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) had its target price lifted by stock analysts at Raymond James from $167.00 to $175.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “strong-buy” rating on the energy exploration company’s stock. Raymond James’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 30.43% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on EOG. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of EOG Resources from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $147.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Wolfe Research upgraded EOG Resources from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $143.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of EOG Resources in a report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of EOG Resources from $144.00 to $137.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of EOG Resources from $157.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, EOG Resources presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.86.

EOG Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:EOG traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $134.17. The company had a trading volume of 1,326,341 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,177,728. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $129.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $127.27. The company has a market cap of $75.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.81, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 1.29. EOG Resources has a 12-month low of $108.94 and a 12-month high of $139.67.

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

EOG Resources announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program 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 buy up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Jeffrey R. Leitzell sold 4,000 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 42,703 shares in the company, valued at $5,162,365.67. This represents a 8.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Janet F. Clark sold 568 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was 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 owns 43,532 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,891,185.56. This trade represents a 1.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of EOG Resources

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of EOG Resources in the third quarter worth $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 bought a new position in shares of EOG Resources in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of EOG Resources during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, HM Payson & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of EOG Resources by 203.7% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. 89.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.