Ieq Capital LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Ieq Capital LLC lowered its stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 12.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,011 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 1,224 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $1,198,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Hess during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,117,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hess during the 4th quarter valued at $2,274,000. Czech National Bank raised its position in shares of Hess by 6.4% during the 4th 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 during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hess by 20.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,213,574 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $169,767,000 after buying an additional 208,996 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 4,891 shares during the period. 88.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hess Trading Up 0.4 %

HES opened at $148.74 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $141.28 and a 200 day moving average of $139.33. 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 12 month low of $123.79 and a 12 month high of $163.98. The firm has a market cap of $45.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.53 and a beta of 1.17.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HES has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. 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. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Saturday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Pickering Energy Partners raised shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.