Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Has $6.78 Million Holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 30.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,418 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 19,112 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in Hess were worth $6,780,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 129,977 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $18,737,000 after purchasing an additional 8,439 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 123,339 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $17,781,000 after purchasing an additional 1,210 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 100,330 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $14,464,000 after purchasing an additional 12,649 shares during the period. Alpine Associates Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hess in the 4th quarter valued at about $237,100,000. Finally, Arvest Investments Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hess in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,407,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on HES. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Hess from $172.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Hess from $165.00 to $157.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 12th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Hess in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Hess from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $166.00 to $172.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Hess from $167.00 to $166.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $178.58.

Hess Price Performance

Hess stock traded up $0.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $150.25. 1,169,120 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,599,412. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The business has a fifty day moving average of $148.83 and a 200 day moving average of $149.39. Hess Co. has a 1-year low of $131.61 and a 1-year high of $167.75. The company has a market capitalization of $46.29 billion, a PE ratio of 23.01 and a beta of 1.16.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas producer reported $3.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $1.43. Hess had a return on equity of 22.73% and a net margin of 17.41%. The firm had revenue of $3.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.98 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 36.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 11.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

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

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.