Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. Takes $1.78 Million Position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. bought a new position in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 13,400 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,782,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Hess by 58.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,753,126 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $509,675,000 after buying an additional 1,391,311 shares during the last quarter. HBK Investments L P increased its stake in shares of Hess by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 7,117,820 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $966,600,000 after purchasing an additional 1,017,720 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Hess by 46.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,930,509 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $389,787,000 after purchasing an additional 927,093 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Hess by 31.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,318,822 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $450,696,000 after purchasing an additional 785,270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in Hess during the third quarter worth about $75,126,000. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on HES shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com started coverage on Hess in a report on Sunday, March 2nd. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hess has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.60.

Hess Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HES opened at $147.73 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.12 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. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $143.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $139.92. The firm has a market cap of $45.55 billion, a PE ratio of 16.41 and a beta of 1.21.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. Equities research analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.