Rothschild Investment LLC Acquires 188 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 80.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 423 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $56,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HES. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Hess during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its stake in Hess by 22.7% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 22,606 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 4,186 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Hess by 59.8% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Hess during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC boosted its stake in Hess by 157.2% during the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 355 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Price Performance

Hess stock opened at $145.42 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The company has a market capitalization of $44.81 billion, a PE ratio of 16.16 and a beta of 1.17. Hess Co. has a one year low of $123.79 and a one year high of $163.98. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $141.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $139.47.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. Hess’s payout ratio is 22.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HES has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group upped their price target on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Hess in a research report on Saturday, February 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Citigroup raised 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, Pickering Energy Partners upgraded Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.60.

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.