Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Buys 25,056 Shares of EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG)

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG) by 89.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 53,132 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,056 shares during the quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC’s holdings in EOG Resources were worth $6,513,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of EOG. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of EOG Resources in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in EOG Resources during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in EOG Resources in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of EOG Resources in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, HM Payson & Co. raised its stake in shares of EOG Resources by 203.7% during 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 owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

EOG Resources Stock Down 0.0 %

EOG stock opened at $130.23 on Thursday. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $128.82 and a 200 day moving average of $127.41. EOG Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $108.94 and a twelve month high of $139.67. The firm has a market cap of $73.25 billion, a PE ratio of 10.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 1.29.

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

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

EOG Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a $0.975 dividend. This represents a $3.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This is an increase from EOG Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. EOG Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.40%.

Insider Activity

In other EOG Resources news, COO Jeffrey R. Leitzell sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.89, for a total transaction of $483,560.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 42,703 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,162,365.67. This trade represents a 8.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Janet F. Clark sold 568 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.33, for a total value of $76,867.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 43,532 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,891,185.56. This represents a 1.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on EOG shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of EOG Resources in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $144.00 price objective (down from $151.00) on shares of EOG Resources in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Raymond James upped their target price on EOG Resources from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of EOG Resources from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of EOG Resources from $156.00 to $148.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.90.

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.