Twin Securities Inc. Has $12.99 Million Stock Holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Twin Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 82.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 95,663 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 43,332 shares during the period. Hess makes up 14.7% of Twin Securities Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Twin Securities Inc.’s holdings in Hess were worth $12,991,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in HES. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of Hess by 59.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Hess by 47.6% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 273 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new position in Hess in the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in Hess during the third quarter worth approximately $55,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hess during the second quarter worth approximately $60,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on HES. StockNews.com started coverage on Hess in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective 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. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Hess from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Hess from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $163.30.

Insider Activity at Hess

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.08, for a total value of $18,385,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 217,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,047,849.52. This represents a 36.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of Hess stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction of $851,460.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 27,581 shares in the company, valued at $3,914,019.71. This trade represents a 17.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 314,370 shares of company stock valued at $45,856,309 over the last ninety days. 9.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HES opened at $147.06 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.31 billion, a PE ratio of 17.14 and a beta of 1.15. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $140.25 and a 200-day moving average of $142.25. Hess Co. has a 12 month low of $123.79 and a 12 month high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.64 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 9.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.31%.

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.