Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Position Raised by HBK Investments L P

HBK Investments L P increased its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 16.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,117,820 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,017,720 shares during the period. Hess makes up about 15.4% of HBK Investments L P’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. HBK Investments L P owned about 2.31% of Hess worth $966,600,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Hess by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 72,362 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $11,043,000 after acquiring an additional 2,136 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Hess in the first quarter valued at $275,000. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Hess during the 1st quarter worth about $36,936,000. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in Hess by 424.8% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 19,466 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,971,000 after purchasing an additional 15,757 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Hess by 23.6% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 4,415 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $674,000 after buying an additional 844 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Hess stock opened at $146.76 on Friday. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $123.79 and a twelve month high of $163.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.22 billion, a PE ratio of 17.10 and a beta of 1.15. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $140.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $142.34.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its 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. Hess had a return on equity of 27.41% and a net margin of 20.58%. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.64 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 9.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.36%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a report on Friday, September 13th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Hess in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Hess from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Hess from $171.00 to $151.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 27th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $163.30.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of Hess stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction of $851,460.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 27,581 shares in the company, valued at $3,914,019.71. The trade was a 17.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of Hess stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.47, for a total transaction of $12,890,115.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 223,147 shares in the company, valued at $31,791,753.09. This trade represents a 28.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 314,370 shares of company stock worth $45,856,309 over the last three months. Insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Hess Company Profile

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.