Forum Financial Management LP Cuts Holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Forum Financial Management LP trimmed its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,132 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 145 shares during the quarter. Forum Financial Management LP’s holdings in Hess were worth $417,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HES. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake 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 worth $528,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $224,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Hess by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 629 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity 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 shares were sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 6.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 9.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group cut their target price on Hess from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hess in a research note on Saturday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hess presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $166.26.

Hess Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of HES opened at $130.56 on Monday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $40.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.51 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a 50-day moving average of $145.14 and a 200 day moving average of $142.31. Hess Co. has a 1-year low of $123.79 and a 1-year high of $163.98.

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

Hess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.