Avestar Capital LLC Purchases 269 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Avestar Capital LLC lifted its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 17.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,829 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $243,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HES. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Hess by 58.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,753,126 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $509,675,000 after acquiring an additional 1,391,311 shares during the period. HBK Investments L P raised its stake in Hess by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 7,117,820 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $966,600,000 after purchasing an additional 1,017,720 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Hess by 31.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,318,822 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $450,696,000 after purchasing an additional 785,270 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in Hess in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $75,126,000. Finally, ING Groep NV grew its holdings in Hess by 267.8% during the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 533,264 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $72,417,000 after buying an additional 388,273 shares in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hess Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of HES opened at $146.65 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Hess Co. has a 52-week low of $123.79 and a 52-week high of $163.98. The company has a market cap of $45.18 billion, a PE ratio of 16.29 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a fifty day moving average of $140.34 and a 200 day moving average of $138.93.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 7.69 EPS for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. Hess’s payout ratio is 22.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com started coverage on Hess in a report on Friday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company raised Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

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. 9.76% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.