Levin Capital Strategies L.P. Purchases New Position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Levin Capital Strategies L.P. purchased a new stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 99,880 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $13,285,000.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Hess in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Covestor Ltd raised its position in Hess by 59.8% in 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 last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Hess in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. LRI Investments LLC raised its position in Hess by 157.2% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in Hess in the 3rd quarter valued at $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Hess Trading Up 1.4 %

HES stock opened at $149.04 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $142.65 and a 200-day moving average of $139.65. The company has a market cap of $45.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.56 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Hess Co. has a twelve month low of $123.79 and a twelve month high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

Hess 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.