EOG Resources, Inc. $EOG Shares Newly Purchased by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 179,000 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,659,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of EOG Resources in the second quarter worth approximately $5,905,587,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in EOG Resources in the second quarter worth approximately $654,899,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in EOG Resources in the second quarter worth approximately $551,321,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in EOG Resources in the second quarter worth approximately $251,102,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in shares of EOG Resources by 357.8% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,971,842 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock worth $271,641,000 after acquiring an additional 1,541,140 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.91% of the company’s stock.

EOG Resources Trading Up 1.5%

EOG Resources stock opened at $153.81 on Thursday. EOG Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $101.59 and a 12-month high of $165.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.27. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $149.66 and a 200 day moving average of $138.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The energy exploration company reported $4.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.45 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $8.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.26 billion. EOG Resources had a net margin of 27.54% and a return on equity of 26.32%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 46.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.71 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that EOG Resources, Inc. will post 17.82 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 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 15th will be given a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 15th. This is a positive change from EOG Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. EOG Resources’s payout ratio is 26.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of EOG Resources from $186.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $186.00 target price (up from $183.00) on shares of EOG Resources in a report on Thursday, September 17th. Wall Street Zen raised EOG Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 26th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $150.00 target price (up from $141.00) on shares of EOG Resources in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Roth Capital reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $138.00 price target on shares of EOG Resources in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and seventeen have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, EOG Resources has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $162.32.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Ezra Y. Yacob sold 35,942 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.10, for a total value of $5,466,778.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 242,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,876,797.10. This represents a 12.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey R. Leitzell sold 9,039 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.61, for a total value of $1,270,973.79. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 90,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,765,981.90. The trade was a 9.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 52,317 shares of company stock worth $7,823,480 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

EOG Resources Profile

EOG Resources is an independent energy company focused on exploring for, developing and producing crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its operations include drilling and managing wells, with a focus on resources in shale and other tight-rock formations. The company’s activities are concentrated in the United States, including major producing regions such as the Permian Basin and Eagle Ford. EOG also has international operations, including in Trinidad and Tobago and the United Arab Emirates.