Fmr LLC Has $607.71 Million Stock Position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Fmr LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 32.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,475,061 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 2,197,265 shares during the period. Fmr LLC owned 1.45% of Hess worth $607,713,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Hess by 59.8% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hess by 47.6% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 273 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of Hess during the third quarter worth $48,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Hess during the third quarter worth $55,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hess during the second quarter worth $60,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:HES opened at $146.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $140.00 and a 200-day moving average of $142.34. The company has a market cap of $45.22 billion, a PE ratio of 17.10 and a beta of 1.15. Hess Co. has a one year low of $123.79 and a one year high of $163.98.

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

Hess Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. This is an increase from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on HES. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Hess from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Hess from $171.00 to $151.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 27th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hess has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $163.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hess news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total value of $851,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 27,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,914,019.71. This represents a 17.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 92,894 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.80, for a total transaction of $13,729,733.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 229,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,914,927. The trade was a 28.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 314,370 shares of company stock valued at $45,856,309. 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.