Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems lowered its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 7.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 19,254 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 1,573 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Hess were worth $2,615,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of HES. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new position in Hess during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of Hess by 59.8% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Hess by 47.6% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 273 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in shares of Hess during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in Hess in the 3rd quarter worth $55,000. 88.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Monday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Hess from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Hess from $171.00 to $151.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 27th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $163.30.

Hess Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of HES stock opened at $145.64 on Monday. Hess Co. has a twelve month low of $123.79 and a twelve month high of $163.98. The stock has a market cap of $44.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.97 and a beta of 1.15. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $136.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $142.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.96 billion. Hess had a net margin of 20.58% and a return on equity of 27.41%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.64 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 9.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hess

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.47, for a total transaction of $12,890,115.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 223,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,791,753.09. This trade represents a 28.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction of $851,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 27,581 shares in the company, valued at $3,914,019.71. This trade represents a 17.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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.