23,436 Shares in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Acquired by Strategic Financial Concepts LLC

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 23,436 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $3,117,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess during the 4th quarter valued at $2,274,000. Czech National Bank raised its position in Hess by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 59,927 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $7,971,000 after purchasing an additional 3,625 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Hess by 20.8% during 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 last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hess by 34.1% in the 4th quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 19,235 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,558,000 after purchasing an additional 4,891 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Paragon Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hess during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,513,000. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hess

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 92,894 shares of Hess stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.80, for a total transaction of $13,729,733.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 229,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,914,927. The trade was a 28.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Hess Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HES opened at $146.65 on Monday. 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 company has a market cap of $45.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.29 and a beta of 1.17. Hess Co. has a 12 month low of $123.79 and a 12 month high of $163.98. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $140.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $138.84.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 7.69 EPS for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

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

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.