Avestar Capital LLC Trims Stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Avestar Capital LLC lessened its holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 9.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,560 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 168 shares during the quarter. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $212,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its holdings in Hess by 4.4% in the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 8,098,012 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,194,619,000 after purchasing an additional 340,490 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Hess by 31.0% during the third 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 buying an additional 785,270 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Hess by 34.5% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,835,486 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $418,291,000 after buying an additional 726,631 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Hess by 6.6% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,451,807 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $361,691,000 after buying an additional 150,945 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Hess by 11.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,798,788 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $265,359,000 after buying an additional 181,459 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on HES shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Hess in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Hess from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $163.30.

Hess Stock Performance

Hess stock opened at $146.76 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $140.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $142.34. Hess Co. has a twelve month low of $123.79 and a twelve month high of $163.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The company has a market cap of $45.22 billion, a PE ratio of 17.10 and a beta of 1.15.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.26. Hess had a net margin of 20.58% and a return on equity of 27.41%. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.64 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 9.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 was Monday, September 16th. This is a boost from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.36%. Hess’s payout ratio is currently 23.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 92,894 shares of Hess stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.80, for a total transaction of $13,729,733.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 229,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,914,927. The trade was a 28.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of Hess stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction of $851,460.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 27,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,914,019.71. This represents a 17.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 314,370 shares of company stock valued at $45,856,309. Company insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

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.