Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Acquires 2,630 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,369 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 2,630 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Hess were worth $2,224,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Hess during the 2nd quarter worth about $6,054,000. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in Hess by 59.9% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 26,823 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,087,000 after buying an additional 10,053 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in Hess by 424.8% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 19,466 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,971,000 after buying an additional 15,757 shares during the period. Calamos Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Hess by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 590,326 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $87,085,000 after buying an additional 15,684 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hess by 255.1% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 6,836 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,008,000 after acquiring an additional 4,911 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Mizuho dropped their target price on Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Hess from $171.00 to $151.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 27th. Six 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.com, Hess has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $163.30.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of HES opened at $146.76 on Thursday. 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 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.26. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $139.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $142.31. The firm has a market cap of $45.22 billion, a PE ratio of 17.10 and a beta of 1.15.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.64 earnings per share. Hess’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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 given a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.31%.

Insider Activity at Hess

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 223,147 shares in the company, valued at $31,791,753.09. This represents a 28.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total value of $851,460.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 27,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,914,019.71. The trade was a 17.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 314,370 shares of company stock valued at $45,856,309. 9.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.