Geode Capital Management LLC Buys 158,371 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,695,533 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 158,371 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $888,240,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Hess by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 2,154 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in Hess by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,971 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $528,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Hess by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,682 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,809 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in shares of Hess by 18.0% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 629 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on HES shares. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Hess in a report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. 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, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.60.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of Hess stock opened at $160.23 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $148.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $142.58. Hess Co. has a one year low of $123.79 and a one year high of $163.98. The stock has a market cap of $49.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.80 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.12.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. Equities analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Hess

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

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.