Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Shares Bought by Covestor Ltd

Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 169.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 706 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 444 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd’s holdings in Hess were worth $94,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hess by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,141,244 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $4,408,117,000 after acquiring an additional 296,406 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Hess by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,695,533 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $888,240,000 after purchasing an additional 158,371 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Hess by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,844,257 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $511,325,000 after buying an additional 91,131 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Hess by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,498,458 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $465,330,000 after buying an additional 179,636 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Hess by 46.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,930,509 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $389,787,000 after buying an additional 927,093 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com started coverage on Hess in a research note on Friday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Pickering Energy Partners upgraded Hess to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.56.

Hess Price Performance

HES stock opened at $128.42 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.27 and a beta of 0.88. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $123.79 and a 52-week high of $163.98. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $146.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $142.63.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 expect that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hess

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

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.