Monte Financial Group LLC Acquires 511 Shares of EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG)

Monte Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 45,630 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock after acquiring an additional 511 shares during the quarter. EOG Resources accounts for about 2.4% of Monte Financial Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Monte Financial Group LLC’s holdings in EOG Resources were worth $5,593,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EOG. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in EOG Resources in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of EOG Resources in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Eastern Bank bought a new position in shares of EOG Resources during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of EOG Resources in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, HM Payson & Co. boosted its holdings in EOG Resources by 203.7% in the third quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 328 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. 89.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of EOG Resources from $144.00 to $137.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of EOG Resources from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Scotiabank decreased their price target on EOG Resources from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $144.00 price objective (down from $151.00) on shares of EOG Resources in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, StockNews.com raised EOG Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned 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 “Hold” and an average target price of $143.86.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Jeffrey R. Leitzell sold 4,000 shares of EOG Resources stock in a transaction dated 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 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Janet F. Clark sold 568 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.33, for a total transaction of $76,867.44. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 43,532 shares in the company, valued at $5,891,185.56. The trade was a 1.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

EOG Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EOG opened at $131.73 on Friday. EOG Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $108.94 and a fifty-two week high of $139.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a current ratio of 2.31. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $129.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $127.35. The stock has a market cap of $74.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.61, a PEG ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 1.29.

EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The energy exploration company reported $2.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.73 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $5.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.03 billion. EOG Resources had a net margin of 29.18% and a return on equity of 23.77%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.44 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that EOG Resources, Inc. will post 11.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EOG Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a $0.975 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This is a positive change from EOG Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.96%. EOG Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.40%.

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

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.