Comerica Bank Sells 1,835 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Comerica Bank lessened its stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 3.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 59,977 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 1,835 shares during the period. Comerica Bank’s holdings in Hess were worth $9,155,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hess during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hess during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Hess in the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in Hess during the 1st quarter worth $52,000. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hess Stock Performance

HES traded down $4.60 on Friday, reaching $136.63. The stock had a trading volume of 1,022,928 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,374,147. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $148.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $149.63. The company has a market cap of $42.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.63 and a beta of 1.16. Hess Co. has a 12-month low of $131.61 and a 12-month high of $167.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $3.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.24 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 28.40% and a net margin of 21.22%. Hess’s revenue for the quarter was up 40.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.65 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 11.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were given a dividend of $0.4375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on HES. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Hess from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $166.00 to $172.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Hess from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Hess in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank cut 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. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $178.58.

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.