BNP Paribas Financial Markets Has $54.04 Million Stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 1.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 397,926 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,287 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Hess were worth $54,038,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of Hess by 59.8% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Hess by 47.6% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 273 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Hess during the third quarter worth approximately $48,000. Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Hess during the third quarter worth approximately $55,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hess during the second quarter worth approximately $60,000. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on HES. Susquehanna boosted 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. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Hess from $171.00 to $151.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $163.30.

Hess Stock Up 0.3 %

Hess stock opened at $146.76 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.22 billion, a PE ratio of 17.10 and a beta of 1.15. 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 50 day moving average of $140.00 and a 200-day moving average of $142.34.

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

Hess Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This is a boost from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is 23.31%.

Hess Company 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.