Golden State Wealth Management LLC Takes $74,000 Position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 556 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $74,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hess by 2.4% in the third quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,266 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $444,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Hess by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,682 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Hess by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,577 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $214,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of Hess by 59.8% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HES has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Pickering Energy Partners raised Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Hess from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Citigroup raised their target price on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Thursday, February 6th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Six investment 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 an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 92,894 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 229,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,914,927. The trade was a 28.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of Hess stock opened at $145.76 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a fifty day moving average of $140.23 and a 200-day moving average of $138.91. Hess Co. has a 52-week low of $123.79 and a 52-week high of $163.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.12.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. Equities research analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 7.69 EPS for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Hess’s payout ratio is 22.22%.

About Hess

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.