Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Shares Sold by State of Tennessee Department of Treasury

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury trimmed its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 169,701 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 6,368 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury’s holdings in Hess were worth $22,572,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of HES. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in Hess by 29.1% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 10,726 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,427,000 after purchasing an additional 2,418 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Hess by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 81,168 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $10,796,000 after buying an additional 1,023 shares during the last quarter. Natixis boosted its holdings in shares of Hess by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Natixis now owns 131,582 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $17,502,000 after buying an additional 4,276 shares in the last quarter. Norinchukin Bank The grew its position in shares of Hess by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 15,159 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,016,000 after buying an additional 2,391 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new stake in Hess during the 4th quarter worth $1,406,000. 88.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hess

In other 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,384,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $379,879,364.70. This trade represents a 6.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 9.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HES has been the topic of several research reports. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Pickering Energy Partners raised Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Hess from $160.00 to $136.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Saturday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Hess from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $164.46.

Hess Stock Up 3.2 %

Shares of Hess stock opened at $130.40 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $40.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.49 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $144.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $142.13. 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 one year low of $123.79 and a one year high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share 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, analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. 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.