Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Shares Sold by Intech Investment Management LLC

Intech Investment Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 26.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,465 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 6,027 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $2,236,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Hess during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Covestor Ltd raised its position in Hess by 59.8% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Hess by 47.6% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 273 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Hess in the 3rd quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Hess in the third quarter worth $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE HES opened at $148.65 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $45.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.33 and a beta of 1.15. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $138.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $142.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Hess Co. has a 52-week low of $123.79 and a 52-week high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.26. Hess had a return on equity of 27.41% and a net margin of 20.58%. The company had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.64 EPS. Hess’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 9.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. This is a positive change from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.47, for a total value of $12,890,115.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 223,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,791,753.09. This represents a 28.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total value of $851,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 27,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,914,019.71. This trade represents 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 owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on HES. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Wolfe Research raised Hess from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Hess from $171.00 to $151.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $163.30.

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.