R Squared Ltd Acquires New Shares in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 2,470 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $329,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HES. Perigon Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Hess by 158.9% in the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,659 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,019,000 after purchasing an additional 4,701 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hess by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 22,091 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,938,000 after buying an additional 1,374 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hess by 44.4% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,760 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $239,000 after buying an additional 541 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional raised its holdings in shares of Hess by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 2,135 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $284,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Finally, True North Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Hess during the 4th quarter worth about $216,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Hess

In related news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,914,019.71. This trade represents a 17.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 92,894 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.80, for a total value of $13,729,733.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 229,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,914,927. This represents a 28.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 314,370 shares of company stock worth $45,856,309. Corporate insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Hess Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:HES opened at $144.95 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $141.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $139.41. The stock has a market cap of $44.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.89 and a beta of 1.18. Hess Co. has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $163.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.64 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 9.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Hess’s payout ratio is 23.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Hess in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Hess has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.50.

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.