Insiders At EOG Resources Sold US$3.7m In Stock, Alluding To Potential Weakness

Many EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG) insiders ditched their stock over the past year, which may be of interest to the company's shareholders. Knowing whether insiders are buying is usually more helpful when evaluating insider transactions, as insider selling can have various explanations. However, shareholders should take a deeper look if several insiders are selling stock over a specific time period.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

View our latest analysis for EOG Resources

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At EOG Resources

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Executive VP, Michael Donaldson, sold US$1.4m worth of shares at a price of US$130 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at around the current price of US$119. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. In this case, the big sale took place at around the current price, so it's not too bad (but it's still not a positive).

Insiders in EOG Resources didn't buy any shares in the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of small cap stocks that are not only being bought by insiders but also have attractive valuations.

Insiders At EOG Resources Have Sold Stock Recently

Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider selling at EOG Resources. In total, Independent Director Janet Clark sold US$77k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. In light of this it's hard to argue that all the insiders think that the shares are a bargain.

Insider Ownership Of EOG Resources

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It's great to see that EOG Resources insiders own 0.2% of the company, worth about US$157m. Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

So What Do The EOG Resources Insider Transactions Indicate?

An insider sold EOG Resources shares recently, but they didn't buy any. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. The company boasts high insider ownership, but we're a little hesitant, given the history of share sales. While it's good to be aware of what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. To help with this, we've discovered 2 warning signs (1 is potentially serious!) that you ought to be aware of before buying any shares in EOG Resources.

But note: EOG Resources may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.