Calamos Wealth Management LLC Acquires 776 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Calamos Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 86,420 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 776 shares during the period. Calamos Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $11,495,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Hess by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 9,509 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,265,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC lifted its holdings in Hess by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 4,435 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $590,000 after buying an additional 357 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd boosted its position in Hess by 46.8% during the fourth quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 16,260 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,120,000 after acquiring an additional 5,186 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Hess during the 4th quarter worth about $2,274,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its position in shares of Hess by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 14,348 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,908,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of Hess stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction of $851,460.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 27,581 shares in the company, valued at $3,914,019.71. The trade was a 17.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 92,894 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 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. Corporate insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on HES. Pickering Energy Partners raised Hess to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hess currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.50.

Hess Price Performance

HES stock opened at $138.88 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.12. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $140.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $139.21. The company has a market capitalization of $42.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.43 and a beta of 1.18. Hess Co. has a 52-week low of $123.79 and a 52-week high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. Research analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 7.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.22%.

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.