MONECO Advisors LLC Sells 1,474 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

MONECO Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 24.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,630 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 1,474 shares during the quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $616,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in Hess by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 19,369 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,630,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Hess by 60.8% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,219 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $180,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Hess by 100.2% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 98,429 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $13,367,000 after buying an additional 49,267 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Hess during the 3rd quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in Hess by 21.5% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 15,126 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,054,000 after buying an additional 2,673 shares during the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on HES shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded Hess to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com started coverage on Hess in a research report on Saturday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.60.

Hess Stock Performance

HES opened at $147.96 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $45.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.44 and a beta of 1.17. The business’s fifty day moving average is $141.02 and its 200-day moving average is $139.23. Hess Co. has a 52-week low of $123.79 and a 52-week high of $163.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.12.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. Sell-side analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS 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 given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.