SouthState Corp Lowers Stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

SouthState Corp lessened its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 18.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 532 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 120 shares during the quarter. SouthState Corp’s holdings in Hess were worth $71,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Hess during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Hess during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Groupama Asset Managment raised its stake in shares of Hess by 22.7% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 22,606 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 4,186 shares in the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hess in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Citigroup boosted their target price on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Six 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 company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.60.

Hess Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE:HES opened at $150.43 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $145.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $140.32. The stock has a market cap of $46.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.71 and a beta of 1.21. 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.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. Equities analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

Hess 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.