Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC Sells 4,817 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 7.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 57,298 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 4,817 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $7,621,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in Hess by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 16,369 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,224,000 after acquiring an additional 2,630 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Hess by 10.3% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 18,862 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,561,000 after purchasing an additional 1,764 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 12.0% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 33,878 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $4,601,000 after purchasing an additional 3,640 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Hess in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $114,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in Hess by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 397,926 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $54,038,000 after buying an additional 4,287 shares in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hess Price Performance

HES opened at $160.39 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $49.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.82 and a beta of 1.21. Hess Co. has a 12 month low of $123.79 and a 12 month high of $163.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $147.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $141.46.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share (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, research analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Hess’s payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HES has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Hess in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Pickering Energy Partners raised shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.