Perigon Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Perigon Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 158.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,659 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 4,701 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $1,019,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of HES. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Hess by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,266 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $444,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,682 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hess by 6.6% in the third quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,577 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $214,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Hess by 59.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Hess by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,673 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $231,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Scotiabank raised their target price on Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com began coverage on Hess in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Citigroup lifted 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hess

In other news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 27,581 shares in the company, valued at $3,914,019.71. This trade represents a 17.87 % 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. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 125,000 shares of Hess stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.08, for a total value of $18,385,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 217,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,047,849.52. This represents a 36.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 314,370 shares of company stock valued at $45,856,309. Corporate insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Hess Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:HES opened at $145.77 on Friday. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $123.79 and a 52-week high of $163.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.99 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $140.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $139.43.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a return on equity of 27.41% and a net margin of 20.58%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 9.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.22%.

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.