Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Shares Sold by Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 6.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,936 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 389 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s holdings in Hess were worth $790,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. HBK Investments L P raised its stake in shares of Hess by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 7,117,820 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $966,600,000 after buying an additional 1,017,720 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Hess by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,537,162 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $884,709,000 after buying an additional 74,085 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Hess by 58.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,753,126 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $509,675,000 after buying an additional 1,391,311 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Hess by 46.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,930,509 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $389,787,000 after buying an additional 927,093 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hess by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,838,079 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $244,483,000 after buying an additional 82,703 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Hess stock opened at $156.59 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $146.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $140.83. The company has a market cap of $48.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.40 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Hess Co. has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share 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%. As a group, analysts expect 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 issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is 22.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded Hess to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Hess in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.60.

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.