LGT Group Foundation Grows Position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

LGT Group Foundation increased its holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 188,454 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,251 shares during the quarter. LGT Group Foundation owned approximately 0.06% of Hess worth $27,277,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Spire Wealth Management lifted its stake in Hess by 30.7% in the third quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 319 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Inc. OK lifted its position in shares of Hess by 5.4% during the third quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 1,584 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $242,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA lifted its position in shares of Hess by 2.0% during the third quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 4,420 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $676,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its position in shares of Hess by 33.7% during the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 385 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Hess by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 872 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $126,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Hess

In related news, SVP Andrew P. Slentz sold 1,062 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.52, for a total transaction of $153,480.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 50,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,257,071.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, SVP Andrew P. Slentz sold 1,062 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.52, for a total value of $153,480.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 50,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,257,071.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 13,921 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.08, for a total value of $2,103,184.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 33,581 shares in the company, valued at $5,073,417.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 155,798 shares of company stock valued at $22,811,166 in the last 90 days. 9.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hess Stock Performance

NYSE HES traded up $2.06 on Thursday, reaching $158.83. 1,638,684 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,561,820. Hess Co. has a fifty-two week low of $124.27 and a fifty-two week high of $167.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.23. The firm has a market cap of $48.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.01 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $152.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $147.25.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas producer reported $3.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $1.43. Hess had a return on equity of 22.73% and a net margin of 17.41%. The business had revenue of $3.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.98 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 36.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 9.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 18th were given a $0.4375 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 15th. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on HES shares. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Hess from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Susquehanna raised their price target on Hess from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Thursday, April 25th. They set a “sell” rating on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Hess from $172.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Hess presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $177.42.

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.