CX Institutional Acquires 128 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

CX Institutional grew its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,135 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the quarter. CX Institutional’s holdings in Hess were worth $284,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Hess in the second quarter worth approximately $6,054,000. Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of Hess by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 59,927 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $7,971,000 after purchasing an additional 3,625 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hess by 20.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,213,574 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $169,767,000 after purchasing an additional 208,996 shares during the period. Maverick Capital Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Hess in the third quarter worth approximately $1,052,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its position in shares of Hess by 295.5% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 84,277 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $11,445,000 after purchasing an additional 62,966 shares during the period. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hess Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of HES opened at $144.32 on Monday. Hess Co. has a twelve month low of $123.79 and a twelve month high of $163.98. The company has a market cap of $44.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.82 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $141.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $139.48.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.26. Hess had a net margin of 20.58% and a return on equity of 27.41%. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.64 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 9.51 EPS for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.31%.

Insider Transactions at Hess

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 92,894 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.80, for a total value of $13,729,733.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 229,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,914,927. This represents a 28.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction of $851,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 27,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,914,019.71. The trade was a 17.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 314,370 shares of company stock worth $45,856,309. Insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HES has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Pickering Energy Partners raised shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hess in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.50.

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.