Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Sells 400 Shares of EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG)

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG) by 23.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,295 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock after selling 400 shares during the quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in EOG Resources were worth $159,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in EOG Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of EOG Resources during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of EOG Resources during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. HM Payson & Co. increased its position 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 buying an additional 220 shares during the period. Finally, Matrix Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of EOG Resources during the third quarter valued at about $43,000. 89.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at EOG Resources

In related news, Director Janet F. Clark sold 568 shares of the firm’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 sale, the director now owns 43,532 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,891,185.56. This trade represents a 1.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey R. Leitzell sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.89, for a total value of $483,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 42,703 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,162,365.67. The trade was a 8.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on EOG shares. Raymond James upped their price target on EOG Resources from $156.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Scotiabank decreased their price target on EOG Resources from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. KeyCorp decreased their price target on EOG Resources from $157.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wolfe Research upgraded EOG Resources from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $143.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on EOG Resources from $127.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.48.

EOG Resources Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of EOG opened at $135.91 on Wednesday. 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 1 year low of $108.94 and a 1 year high of $139.67. The firm has a market cap of $76.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $128.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $126.84.

EOG Resources announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, November 7th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the energy exploration company to buy up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares 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 issued a $0.975 dividend. This is a boost from EOG Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $3.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. EOG Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.40%.

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.