denkapparat Operations GmbH Purchases New Position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

denkapparat Operations GmbH acquired a new position in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,846 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $246,000.

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

Hess Stock Performance

Shares of HES opened at $158.48 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $48.86 billion, a PE ratio of 17.61 and a beta of 1.21. Hess Co. has a 52-week low of $123.79 and a 52-week high of $163.98. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $147.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $141.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. Equities research analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Transactions at Hess

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of Hess stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total transaction of $27,877,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,384,679 shares in the company, valued at $379,879,364.70. The trade was a 6.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

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.