UBS Group Lowers EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) Price Target to $160.00

EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) had its price objective dropped by research analysts at UBS Group from $165.00 to $160.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the energy exploration company’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 33.51% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on EOG. Citigroup raised their target price on EOG Resources from $127.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $144.00 target price (down previously from $151.00) on shares of EOG Resources in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised EOG Resources from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $147.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays lowered their target price on EOG Resources from $148.00 to $146.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of EOG Resources in a report on Monday, January 13th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $146.10.

EOG Resources Stock Performance

Shares of EOG traded down $0.70 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $119.85. The stock had a trading volume of 1,179,038 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,981,625. The company has a quick ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market cap of $67.41 billion, a PE ratio of 9.65, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.27. EOG Resources has a fifty-two week low of $115.40 and a fifty-two week high of $139.67. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $129.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $127.85.

EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 28th. The energy exploration company reported $2.74 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $5.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.96 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that EOG Resources will post 11.47 earnings per share for the current year.

EOG Resources declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the energy exploration company to repurchase up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 value of $483,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 42,703 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,162,365.67. This trade represents a 8.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On EOG Resources

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