Public Sector Pension Investment Board Sells 20,900 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Public Sector Pension Investment Board cut its holdings in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 30.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 48,161 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 20,900 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Hess were worth $6,540,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HES. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Hess during the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,054,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in Hess by 424.8% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 19,466 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,971,000 after buying an additional 15,757 shares in the last quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Hess by 2.7% in the second quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 590,326 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $87,085,000 after buying an additional 15,684 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hess by 255.1% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 6,836 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,008,000 after buying an additional 4,911 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its position in shares of Hess by 295.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 62,966 shares in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Hess

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.47, for a total value of $12,890,115.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 223,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,791,753.09. This represents a 28.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction of $851,460.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 27,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,914,019.71. This trade represents a 17.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 314,370 shares of company stock worth $45,856,309. Company insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Hess Stock Performance

Shares of HES stock opened at $147.18 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $140.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $142.14. Hess Co. has a one year low of $123.79 and a one year high of $163.98. The stock has a market cap of $45.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.15 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.96 billion. Hess had a net margin of 20.58% and a return on equity of 27.41%. Hess’s revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.64 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 9.74 EPS for the current year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. 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 dividend yield of 1.36%. Hess’s payout ratio is presently 23.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HES has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Hess in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Wolfe Research upgraded Hess from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $163.30.

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.