EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG) Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System lessened its stake in shares of EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,405,457 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock after selling 31,463 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in EOG Resources were worth $172,281,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its position in EOG Resources by 4,642.2% during the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 2,852,238 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock worth $349,627,000 after purchasing an additional 2,792,092 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of EOG Resources by 64.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,284,228 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock worth $694,717,000 after buying an additional 2,076,134 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of EOG Resources in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $171,193,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of EOG Resources by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,192,314 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock valued at $2,230,014,000 after buying an additional 781,282 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in EOG Resources by 577.8% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 696,596 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock worth $85,389,000 after acquiring an additional 593,823 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on EOG Resources from $150.00 to $146.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of EOG Resources from $149.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. 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, January 23rd. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of EOG Resources from $134.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of EOG Resources in a report on Monday, January 13th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, EOG Resources has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $144.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other EOG Resources news, COO Jeffrey R. Leitzell sold 4,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 42,703 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,162,365.67. This trade represents a 8.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

EOG Resources Price Performance

Shares of EOG stock opened at $126.55 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $128.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $127.78. The company has a market capitalization of $70.10 billion, a PE ratio of 10.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.25. EOG Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.78 and a twelve month high of $139.67. The company has a current ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 28th. The energy exploration company reported $2.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $5.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.96 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that EOG Resources, Inc. will post 11.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EOG Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.975 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 16th. This represents a $3.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%. EOG Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.73%.

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.