Uniting Wealth Partners LLC Invests $1.03 Million in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Uniting Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 7,750 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,031,000. Hess comprises about 0.5% of Uniting Wealth Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Hess during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Groupama Asset Managment grew its holdings in shares of Hess by 22.7% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 22,606 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 4,186 shares during the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in Hess during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Hess in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on HES. Pickering Energy Partners raised shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Hess in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total value of $27,877,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,384,679 shares in the company, valued at $379,879,364.70. The trade was a 6.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 9.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hess Price Performance

HES opened at $160.23 on Thursday. 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 company has a market cap of $49.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.80 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $148.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $142.58. Hess Co. has a 12-month low of $123.79 and a 12-month high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued 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 net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. Research analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

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

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.