Hsbc Holdings PLC Purchases 663,338 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 76.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,532,132 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 663,338 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.50% of Hess worth $227,273,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HES. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in Hess by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 123,339 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $17,781,000 after purchasing an additional 1,210 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Hess by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 100,330 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $14,464,000 after purchasing an additional 12,649 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in Hess by 136.1% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 690,526 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $99,546,000 after buying an additional 398,089 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in Hess by 59.9% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 26,823 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,087,000 after buying an additional 10,053 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 774.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 522,707 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $75,351,000 after buying an additional 462,953 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HES has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho reduced their target price on Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. StockNews.com began coverage on Hess in a report on Friday, June 28th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Citigroup cut their price target on Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Hess from $151.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Hess from $193.00 to $192.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hess has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $172.77.

Hess Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of Hess stock opened at $130.81 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $40.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.03 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The business has a 50-day moving average of $139.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $147.28. Hess Co. has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $167.75.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $3.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.24 billion. Hess had a net margin of 21.22% and a return on equity of 27.43%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.65 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 40.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 11.04 EPS for the current year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.63%.

Hess Company 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.