Howard Capital Management Inc. Has $749,000 Holdings in EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG)

Howard Capital Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG) by 60.8% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,842 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock after selling 9,070 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in EOG Resources were worth $749,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in EOG Resources in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of EOG Resources during the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of EOG Resources during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. 10Elms LLP acquired a new position in shares of EOG Resources in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management purchased a new stake in shares of EOG Resources during the first quarter worth $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.91% of the company’s stock.

EOG Resources Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:EOG opened at $121.37 on Thursday. EOG Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $102.52 and a 52-week high of $138.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 1.87. The company has a market cap of $66.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.26, a P/E/G ratio of 9.46 and a beta of 0.76. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $118.64 and its 200-day moving average is $120.88.

EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The energy exploration company reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.75 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $5.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.92 billion. EOG Resources had a return on equity of 22.35% and a net margin of 26.14%. The company’s revenue was down 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.82 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that EOG Resources, Inc. will post 11.47 earnings per share for the current year.

EOG Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 17th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 17th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. This is a positive change from EOG Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. EOG Resources’s payout ratio is 36.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on EOG. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on EOG Resources from $145.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Scotiabank upgraded EOG Resources from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $150.00 to $130.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Barclays boosted their price target on EOG Resources from $137.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of EOG Resources from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Roth Capital downgraded shares of EOG Resources from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $134.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other EOG Resources news, COO Jeffrey R. Leitzell sold 3,951 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.65, for a total value of $472,737.15. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 45,739 shares in the company, valued at $5,472,671.35. This trade represents a 7.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.