Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Sells 1,398 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS cut its stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 58,768 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 1,398 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Hess were worth $7,817,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Hess during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Hess during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Hess during the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Hess during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hess by 157.2% during the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 355 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the period. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HES has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Citigroup increased their target price 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. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.60.

Hess Trading Down 0.5 %

HES opened at $156.59 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.28 billion, a PE ratio of 17.40 and a beta of 1.21. Hess Co. has a 1-year low of $123.79 and a 1-year high of $163.98. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $146.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $140.78.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. 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.