Nyse Order Imbalance 239849.0 Shares On Sell Side

Energy stocks were mixed late Friday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index decreasing 0.3% and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) up 0.4%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector index dropped 1.8%, while the Dow Jones US Utilities index climbed 2.1%

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 2.5% to $70.55 a barrel while the global benchmark Brent crude contract dropped 2.1% to $74.05 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures fell about 0.7% to $2.67 per 1 million BTU.

In corporate news, Energy Vault shares jumped 9% after the company said Friday it plans to deploy a 57 megawatt Battery Energy Storage System in Scurry County, Texas, and has signed a 10-year offtake agreement with Gridmatic.

EOG Resources shares popped 6%. The company reported late Thursday Q3 adjusted earnings and revenue that came in ahead of analyst forecasts.

Civitas Resources shares were down 0.5% in recent Friday trading, a day after the company reported Q3 adjusted earnings and revenue that missed analysts' estimates.

Icahn Enterprises said Friday that it has sent a proposal to CVR Energy's board to acquire additional shares of the petroleum refining company in a tender offer. Icahn shares fell 6.6% and CVR jumped 12%.

EOG Resources, Inc. EOG reported third-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings per share of $2.89, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.73. However, earnings decreased from the year-ago quarter’s $3.44.

Total quarterly revenues of $5.96 billion missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.03 billion. The top line declined from $6.21 billion in the prior-year quarter.

Better-than-expected quarterly earnings were driven by higher oil-equivalent production volumes, offset partially by decreased realizations of crude oil and condensates, and natural gas liquids (NGL) prices.

EOG Resources, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

EOG Resources, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | EOG Resources, Inc. Quote

Dividend Hike by EOG

The board of directors has authorized EOG to increase its dividend to 97.5 cents per share, payable Jan. 31, 2025, to stockholders of record as of Jan. 17, 2025. The new dividend represents an increment of 7% from the prior level.

EOG’s Operational Performance

In the quarter under review, EOG Resources’ total volumes increased 7.7% year over year to 99 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMBoe) on higher contributions from its multi-basin portfolio. This exceeded the mid-point of the company’s third-quarter 2024 guidance of 98 MMBoe. The reported figure marginally beat our estimate of 98.5 MMBoe.

Crude oil and condensate production totaled 493 thousand barrels per day (MBbls/d), up 2% from the year-ago quarter and surpassing our estimate of 491.9 MBbls/d.

NGL volumes increased 10% year over year to 254.3 MBbls/d, beating our estimate of 247.8 MBbls/d.

Natural gas volume rose to 1,970 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) from the year-earlier quarter’s 1,704 MMcf/d. However, the reported figure lagged our estimate of 1983.7 MMcf/d.

The average price realization for the company’s crude oil and condensates decreased 8% year over year to $76.92 per barrel.

Natural gas was sold at $2.05 per Mcf, a year-over-year decline of 23%. Quarterly NGL prices decreased to $22.42 per barrel from $23.56 in the previous year.

Operating Costs of EOG

In the third quarter, lease and well expenses increased to $392 million from $369 million a year ago.

The company reported gathering, processing and transportation costs of $445 million, higher than the year-ago quarter’s $406 million. The figure also beat our estimate of $430.3 million.

Exploration costs were flat year over year at $43 million. As such, total operating expenses in the third quarter were $3.88 billion, higher than $3.66 billion a year ago.

Liquidity Position & Capital Expenditure of EOG

As of Sept. 30, 2024, EOG Resources had cash and cash equivalents worth $6.1 billion and long-term debt of $3.7 billion. The current portion of the long-term debt totaled $34 million.

In the reported quarter, the company generated $1.5 billion in free cash flow. Capital expenditure amounted to $1.5 billion.

EOG’s Guidance

For 2024, EOG expects a total production of 1,058-1,067.8 MBoe/d. It also anticipates a production of 1,084.5-1,113.2 MBoe/d for the fourth quarter.

Currently, EOG carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Other exploration and production companies like ConocoPhillips COP, Antero Resources Corporation AR and Matador Resources Company MTDR have also reported third-quarter 2024 earnings. While ConocoPhillips and Matador Resources beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings, Antero Resources missed the mark.

Zacks Investment Research

The S&P 500 index surged past the 6,000-point milestone, setting fresh record highs, and small-cap stocks are poised for their best weekly performance since April 2024 as investor optimism surrounding the “Trump trade” continued to fuel a strong risk-on sentiment by the end of a wild week in the market.

All major U.S. indices posted modest gains in midday trading, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average leading slightly, soaring beyond the 44,000-point mark. The blue-chip index is set for its best weekly performance in over a year.

Friday's rise in the S&P 500 was powered by the utilities and real estate sectors, which had lagged post-election. Tech stocks took a breather following Thursday's rally.

Tesla Inc. surged 7%, pushing its weekly gains beyond 27% and propelling its market cap past $1 trillion.

This move now places every "Magnificent Seven" tech stock in the trillion-dollar club, with the group's combined market cap topping $17 trillion.

Treasury yields held steady, while the dollar strengthened in response to the Federal Reserve's Thursday 25-basis-point rate cut to 4.5%-4.75%.

Gold softened, eyeing its worst week since late May, as both silver and oil dropped over 2% on the day. Bitcoin edged up 0.8%, extending its weekly gains to over 11%, marking its best week since July.

Friday’s Performance In Major US Indices, ETFs

According to Benzinga Pro data:

• The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust rose 0.4% to $598.17.
• The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6% to $439.89.
• The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust Series inched 0.1% higher to $514.10.
• The iShares Russell 2000 ETF rose 0.3% to $237.08.
• The Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund outperformed, rising 1.8%. The Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund lagged, down 1%.

Friday’s Stock Movers

Stocks reacting to earnings reports were:

• NRG Energy Inc. , up 0.5%,
• Ubiquiti Inc. , up 21%
• Arista Networks Inc. , down 7%,
• Airbnb Inc. , down 7.5%,
• Motorola Solutions Inc. , up 6.7%,
• EOG Resources Inc. , up 5.9%,
• Fortinet Inc. , up over 9%,
• The Trade Desk Inc. , down over 4%,
• Monster Beverage Corp. , up by 0.5%,
• Axon Enterprise Inc. , up 25%,
• Block Inc. , down 4.4%,
• Cloudfare Inc. , down 6.2%,
• Corpay Inc. , up 6%,
• Expedia Group Inc. , up over 6%,
• Toast Inc. , up 13%,
• Pinterest Inc. , down 17%,
• DraftKings Inc. , up 1.7%,
• Insulet Corp. , up 12%,
• News Corp. , up 3.6%,

Read Next:

• US Consumer Sentiment Rises More Than Predicted To 6-Month Highs, Inflation Expectations Hit 4-Year Low

Illustration created using artificial intelligence via Midjourney.

© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.