Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Invests $65,000 in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ acquired a new position in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 500 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $65,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in Hess in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $496,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in Hess by 19.1% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 16,369 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,224,000 after buying an additional 2,630 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank lifted its position in Hess by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 823,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $111,763,000 after buying an additional 4,500 shares during the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Hess by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,266 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $444,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in Hess in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,577,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on HES. 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 target price for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. 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. StockNews.com started coverage on Hess in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.60.

Hess Price Performance

HES opened at $152.81 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.12. Hess Co. has a 52-week low of $123.79 and a 52-week high of $163.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.11 billion, a PE ratio of 16.98 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $145.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $140.43.

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

Hess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. Hess’s payout ratio is 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.