Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Shares Purchased by Trexquant Investment LP

Trexquant Investment LP raised its holdings in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 39.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 170,226 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 48,562 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP owned approximately 0.06% of Hess worth $22,642,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HES. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hess during the 4th quarter worth approximately $177,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Hess by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,695,533 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $888,240,000 after buying an additional 158,371 shares in the last quarter. Trans Canada Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hess in the fourth quarter worth $891,000. Colrain Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess in the fourth quarter valued at $11,459,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,844,257 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $511,325,000 after acquiring an additional 91,131 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on HES shares. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded Hess to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group upped 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. StockNews.com started coverage on Hess in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total value of $27,877,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,384,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $379,879,364.70. This trade represents a 6.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 9.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hess Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:HES opened at $159.96 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.31 billion, a PE ratio of 17.77 and a beta of 1.21. Hess Co. has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $163.98. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $147.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $142.23.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.22%.

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.