John B. Hess Sells 92,894 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Stock

Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) CEO John B. Hess sold 92,894 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.80, for a total transaction of $13,729,733.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 229,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,914,927. This represents a 28.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Hess Price Performance

NYSE HES traded up $0.67 on Friday, hitting $148.65. The stock had a trading volume of 1,361,160 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,087,591. The company has a market capitalization of $45.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.33 and a beta of 1.15. Hess Co. has a 52-week low of $123.79 and a 52-week high of $163.98. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $138.79 and a 200-day moving average of $142.69. 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 (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 firm had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 27.41% and a net margin of 20.58%. The company’s revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.64 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 9.72 EPS for the current year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. This is a boost from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Hess’s payout ratio is 23.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HES has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Hess from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $163.30.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HES. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Hess by 39.7% during the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 13,955 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,130,000 after purchasing an additional 3,968 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in Hess by 360.6% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 369,016 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $56,327,000 after purchasing an additional 288,895 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 3.6% during the first quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 21,243 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $3,243,000 after purchasing an additional 746 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC grew its stake in Hess by 10.2% in the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 112,331 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $17,146,000 after purchasing an additional 10,352 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co acquired a new stake in shares of Hess in the 1st quarter worth $325,000. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

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.