Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Buys 746 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 3.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,243 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 746 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings in Hess were worth $3,243,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HES. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hess in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Hess during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in Hess during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in Hess during the first quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in Hess during the first quarter valued at $52,000. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on HES. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Hess from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Hess from $167.00 to $166.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Hess in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Hess in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Hess from $172.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $178.58.

Hess Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE HES traded up $0.40 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $150.25. The company had a trading volume of 1,169,120 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,599,412. Hess Co. has a one year low of $131.61 and a one year high of $167.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $148.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $149.39. The stock has a market cap of $46.29 billion, a PE ratio of 23.01 and a beta of 1.16.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas producer reported $3.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $1.43. Hess had a return on equity of 22.73% and a net margin of 17.41%. The company had revenue of $3.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.98 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. Hess’s revenue for the quarter was up 36.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 11.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were given a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Hess’s payout ratio is 26.80%.

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.