Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Shares Bought by Natixis Advisors LLC

Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 12.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 300,631 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 34,354 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $39,987,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. HBK Investments L P increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 16.7% in the third quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 7,117,820 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $966,600,000 after purchasing an additional 1,017,720 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 1.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,537,162 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $884,709,000 after purchasing an additional 74,085 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 58.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,753,126 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $509,675,000 after purchasing an additional 1,391,311 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 31.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,318,822 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $450,696,000 after purchasing an additional 785,270 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 46.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,930,509 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $389,787,000 after purchasing an additional 927,093 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Stock Up 3.0 %

HES opened at $148.21 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $145.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $140.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.12. The company has a market cap of $45.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.47 and a beta of 1.21. Hess Co. has a one year low of $123.79 and a one year high of $163.98.

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 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%. Analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Hess in a report on Monday, March 10th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Pickering Energy Partners raised Hess to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.