Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Stock Holdings Lowered by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund trimmed its holdings in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 47.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 41,828 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 37,550 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Hess were worth $5,564,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hess during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of Hess by 59.8% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hess during the third quarter worth $37,000. LRI Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hess by 157.2% during the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 355 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Hess in the 3rd quarter valued at $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE HES opened at $145.42 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Hess Co. has a 1-year low of $123.79 and a 1-year high of $163.98. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $141.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $139.47. The company has a market capitalization of $44.81 billion, a PE ratio of 16.16 and a beta of 1.17.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Hess’s payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HES has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Hess in a research report on Saturday, February 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.60.

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.