CX Institutional Increases Stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

CX Institutional increased its holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,135 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. CX Institutional’s holdings in Hess were worth $284,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. True North Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Hess during the 4th quarter valued at $216,000. Wesbanco Bank Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hess in the 4th quarter worth about $323,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Hess by 441.8% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 54,831 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $7,293,000 after purchasing an additional 44,710 shares during the period. Advisory Alpha LLC lifted its position in shares of Hess by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 2,203 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Finally, Ellsworth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Hess by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 5,029 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $669,000 after purchasing an additional 593 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE:HES opened at $144.32 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $44.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.82 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.26. Hess Co. has a fifty-two week low of $123.79 and a fifty-two week high of $163.98. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $141.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $139.48.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. Hess had a net margin of 20.58% and a return on equity of 27.41%. Hess’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.64 EPS. Analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 9.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Hess’s payout ratio is presently 23.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Pickering Energy Partners raised shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 125,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.08, for a total transaction of $18,385,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 217,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,047,849.52. This trade represents a 36.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $3,914,019.71. The trade was a 17.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 314,370 shares of company stock valued at $45,856,309 in the last 90 days. 9.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.