Key Financial Inc Lowers Stock Holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Key Financial Inc lessened its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,429 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 408 shares during the quarter. Key Financial Inc’s holdings in Hess were worth $194,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Hess by 12.5% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,064 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $144,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its holdings in Hess by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 5,456 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $787,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Hess by 6.3% in the third quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,673 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $231,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Hess by 0.6% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 53,095 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $7,210,000 after acquiring an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pullen Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Hess by 1.4% during the third quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 14,178 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,925,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HES traded up $3.27 on Friday, hitting $137.75. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,542,813 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,127,565. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $135.31 and a 200-day moving average of $144.07. Hess Co. has a 12-month low of $123.79 and a 12-month high of $163.98. The company has a market capitalization of $42.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.05 and a beta of 1.15.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.96 billion. Hess had a net margin of 20.58% and a return on equity of 27.41%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.64 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 9.74 EPS for the current year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. This is an increase from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Hess’s payout ratio is currently 23.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Hess from $171.00 to $151.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a research note on Friday, September 13th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Hess in a research note on Saturday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Hess presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $164.00.

Hess Company Profile

Hess Corporation, an exploration and production company, explores, develops, produces, purchases, transports, and sells crude oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and natural gas. The company operates in two segments, Exploration and Production, and Midstream. It conducts production operations primarily in the United States, Guyana, the Malaysia/Thailand Joint Development Area, and Malaysia; and exploration activities principally offshore Guyana, the U.S.