Financial Insights Inc. Cuts Stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Financial Insights Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 50.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,043 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 2,074 shares during the period. Financial Insights Inc.’s holdings in Hess were worth $277,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new stake in Hess during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in Hess during the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Hess by 47.6% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 273 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in Hess during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in Hess during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $60,000. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HES has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Hess from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Hess from $171.00 to $151.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.00.

Hess Stock Down 0.7 %

HES stock opened at $138.66 on Wednesday. Hess Co. has a twelve month low of $123.79 and a twelve month high of $166.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The company has a market capitalization of $42.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.23 and a beta of 1.15. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $135.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $144.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.14. Hess had a net margin of 21.22% and a return on equity of 27.43%. The business had revenue of $3.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.65 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 40.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This is a boost from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.