Lazard Asset Management LLC Has $15.56 Million Stock Holdings in EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG)

Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG) by 9.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 126,974 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,003 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in EOG Resources were worth $15,563,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Essex Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of EOG Resources by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 6,145 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock worth $753,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in EOG Resources by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 3,140 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock worth $385,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its stake in shares of EOG Resources by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 989 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock valued at $121,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. 1ST Source Bank increased its holdings in shares of EOG Resources by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 5,349 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock worth $656,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. raised its holdings in EOG Resources by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 4,065 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock valued at $498,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. 89.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EOG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of EOG Resources in a research note on Monday, April 21st. StockNews.com cut shares of EOG Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Barclays cut their price objective on EOG Resources from $140.00 to $137.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on EOG Resources from $149.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of EOG Resources from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $150.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, EOG Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at EOG Resources

In other news, COO Jeffrey R. Leitzell sold 4,037 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.76, for a total transaction of $515,767.12. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 47,732 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,098,240.32. This represents a 7.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

EOG Resources Price Performance

EOG stock opened at $117.23 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $63.98 billion, a PE ratio of 9.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 2.31 and a quick ratio of 2.07. EOG Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $102.52 and a one year high of $138.18. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $116.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $124.42.

EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The energy exploration company reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.75 by $0.12. EOG Resources had a net margin of 29.18% and a return on equity of 23.77%. The company had revenue of $5.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.82 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that EOG Resources, Inc. will post 11.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

EOG Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 17th will be given a dividend of $0.975 per share. This represents a $3.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 17th. EOG Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.18%.

EOG Resources Company 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.