Empirical Asset Management LLC Buys 1,503 Shares of EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG)

Empirical Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG) by 19.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,038 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,503 shares during the quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC’s holdings in EOG Resources were worth $1,108,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. DRW Securities LLC grew its holdings in EOG Resources by 98.6% during the 3rd quarter. DRW Securities LLC now owns 26,838 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock worth $3,299,000 after acquiring an additional 13,324 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC increased its stake in shares of EOG Resources by 7.7% in the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 12,112 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock valued at $1,489,000 after buying an additional 862 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of EOG Resources during the third quarter worth about $730,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of EOG Resources by 3,976.8% in the second quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 10,885 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock worth $1,370,000 after acquiring an additional 10,618 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its position in EOG Resources by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 119,132 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock valued at $14,645,000 after purchasing an additional 12,210 shares during the period. 89.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at EOG Resources

In other EOG Resources news, COO Jeffrey R. Leitzell sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

EOG Resources Stock Down 1.0 %

EOG opened at $136.70 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $128.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $127.06. The company has a quick ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. EOG Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $108.94 and a twelve month high of $139.67. The stock has a market cap of $76.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.01, a PEG ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 1.29.

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 Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a $0.975 dividend. This is an increase from EOG Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. EOG Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EOG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of EOG Resources from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $147.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Wolfe Research upgraded EOG Resources from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $143.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Mizuho dropped their price objective on EOG Resources from $156.00 to $148.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of EOG Resources from $127.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, StockNews.com raised EOG Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, EOG Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.48.

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.