Anchor Capital Advisors LLC Sells 2,180 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Anchor Capital Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 51.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,027 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 2,180 shares during the period. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $309,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Hess by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 5,102 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $779,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its stake in shares of Hess by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 507 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hess by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 855 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $131,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Hess by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,527 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $691,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Hess by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 5,537 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $845,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hess Stock Up 1.9 %

Hess stock traded up $2.84 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $151.22. The company had a trading volume of 624,245 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,422,497. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $150.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $149.05. Hess Co. has a 12 month low of $131.61 and a 12 month high of $167.75. The company has a market capitalization of $46.59 billion, a PE ratio of 22.86 and a beta of 1.16.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas producer reported $3.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $1.43. The firm had revenue of $3.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.98 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 22.73% and a net margin of 17.41%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 36.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 10.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a $0.4375 dividend. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is 26.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on HES shares. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Hess from $172.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Hess from $164.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Hess from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hess in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hess presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $178.17.

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.