Lazard Asset Management LLC Grows Position in EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG)

Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG) by 9.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 126,974 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,003 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in EOG Resources were worth $15,563,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital World Investors increased its position in EOG Resources by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 45,919,327 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock worth $5,628,497,000 after purchasing an additional 2,270,013 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in EOG Resources by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,192,314 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock worth $2,230,014,000 after purchasing an additional 781,282 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in EOG Resources by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,549,802 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock worth $1,541,282,000 after acquiring an additional 234,067 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in EOG Resources by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,719,012 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock valued at $701,036,000 after acquiring an additional 159,216 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in EOG Resources by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,686,003 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock valued at $696,990,000 after acquiring an additional 365,115 shares in the last quarter. 89.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EOG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup lowered their price target on EOG Resources from $134.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Williams Trading set a $154.00 price target on EOG Resources in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of EOG Resources in a research note on Monday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of EOG Resources from $149.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of EOG Resources from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $150.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, EOG Resources currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.63.

Insider Activity

In other EOG Resources news, COO Jeffrey R. Leitzell sold 4,037 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.76, for a total transaction of $515,767.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 47,732 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,098,240.32. This trade represents a 7.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

EOG Resources Price Performance

Shares of EOG opened at $117.23 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $63.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.44, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.78. EOG Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $102.52 and a 52 week high of $138.18. 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 50 day moving average of $116.42 and a 200-day moving average of $124.42.

EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The energy exploration company reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.75 by $0.12. EOG Resources had a net margin of 29.18% and a return on equity of 23.77%. The firm had revenue of $5.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.82 EPS. EOG Resources’s revenue was down 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that EOG Resources, Inc. will post 11.47 EPS for the current year.

EOG Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 17th will be paid a $0.975 dividend. This represents a $3.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 17th. EOG Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.18%.

EOG Resources 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.