Teacher Retirement System of Texas Boosts Holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 780.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,358 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,501 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Hess were worth $2,176,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in HES. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its stake in Hess by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 2,154 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $287,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in Hess by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,971 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $528,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Hess by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,682 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hess by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,809 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Hess by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 629 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on HES. StockNews.com began coverage on Hess in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Citigroup upped 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. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.60.

Hess Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HES opened at $160.39 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.45 billion, a PE ratio of 17.82 and a beta of 1.21. Hess Co. has a 12 month low of $123.79 and a 12 month high of $163.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The business has a 50-day moving average of $147.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $141.46.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.