Swedbank AB Sells 893 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Swedbank AB decreased its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 206,677 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 893 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB owned 0.07% of Hess worth $27,490,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Hess by 2.4% during the third quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,266 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $444,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Hess by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,682 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Hess by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,577 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $214,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Hess by 59.8% in 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. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hess by 6.3% during the third quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,673 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on HES shares. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Citigroup increased their price objective on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Hess in a research note on Wednesday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hess has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.50.

Hess Price Performance

Hess stock opened at $145.77 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.99 and a beta of 1.18. The business has a 50-day moving average of $140.93 and a 200-day moving average of $139.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Hess Co. has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a net margin of 20.58% and a return on equity of 27.41%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 9.51 EPS for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hess

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 92,894 shares of Hess stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.80, for a total value of $13,729,733.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 229,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,914,927. This trade represents a 28.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total value 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 trade represents a 17.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over 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.

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.