Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Increases Stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund increased its position in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 23.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,073 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 1,890 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Hess were worth $1,340,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hess during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Hess by 59.8% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hess during the third quarter valued at $37,000. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in shares of Hess during the third quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Hess by 157.2% during the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 355 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HES has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Hess in a research report on Friday, February 14th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Pickering Energy Partners raised Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup raised their price objective on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.60.

Insider Activity at Hess

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 92,894 shares of the company’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 value of $13,729,733.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 229,465 shares in the company, valued at $33,914,927. This represents a 28.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 9.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HES opened at $148.04 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.12. The company has a market cap of $45.61 billion, a PE ratio of 16.45 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $140.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $138.78. Hess Co. has a fifty-two week low of $123.79 and a fifty-two week high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 7.69 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

Hess 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.