Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) CEO John B. Hess Sells 92,894 Shares

Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) CEO John B. Hess sold 92,894 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 229,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,914,927. This represents a 28.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Hess Price Performance

Hess stock opened at $148.65 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $138.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $142.69. Hess Co. has a 12 month low of $123.79 and a 12 month high of $163.98. The company has a market cap of $45.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.33 and a beta of 1.15. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.26. Hess had a return on equity of 27.41% and a net margin of 20.58%. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.64 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 9.72 EPS for the current year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This is an increase from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.31%.

Institutional Trading of Hess

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Hess during the second quarter worth $6,054,000. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in Hess by 59.9% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 26,823 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,087,000 after purchasing an additional 10,053 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in Hess by 424.8% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 19,466 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,971,000 after buying an additional 15,757 shares in the last quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hess by 2.7% during the second quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 590,326 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $87,085,000 after purchasing an additional 15,684 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hess by 255.1% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 6,836 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,008,000 after buying an additional 4,911 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on HES shares. StockNews.com began coverage on Hess in a research note on Monday, November 18th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Hess from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Six 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $163.30.

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.