6,700 Shares in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Purchased by Trans Canada Capital Inc.

Trans Canada Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 6,700 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $891,000. Hess accounts for 0.1% of Trans Canada Capital Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new position in Hess in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Hess in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Groupama Asset Managment increased its stake in Hess by 22.7% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 22,606 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 4,186 shares during the period. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in Hess during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Hess in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total transaction of $27,877,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,384,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $379,879,364.70. The trade was a 6.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 9.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hess Price Performance

NYSE HES opened at $159.96 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $147.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $142.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.77 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 12-month low of $123.79 and a 12-month high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced 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%. Analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were 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 was Monday, March 17th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HES has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group upped 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. Citigroup raised their price target on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Hess in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Pickering Energy Partners upgraded shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus 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.