Alberta Investment Management Corp Buys 220,680 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Alberta Investment Management Corp grew its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 259.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 305,880 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 220,680 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp’s holdings in Hess were worth $40,685,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of HES. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Hess during the 3rd quarter valued at about $92,000. Creative Planning boosted its position in Hess by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 19,369 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,630,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hess by 60.8% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,219 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $180,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in Hess by 100.2% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 98,429 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $13,367,000 after acquiring an additional 49,267 shares during the period. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new position in Hess during the 3rd quarter worth $48,000. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Hess

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 92,894 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 229,465 shares in the company, valued at $33,914,927. This trade represents a 28.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 9.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hess Stock Performance

HES opened at $148.04 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $140.42 and its 200-day moving average is $138.78. The firm has a market cap of $45.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.45 and a beta of 1.17. 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 52-week low of $123.79 and a 52-week high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. Sell-side analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 7.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HES has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Hess in a research report on Friday, February 14th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group increased their price objective on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.60.

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.