Allstate Corp Purchases Shares of 8,308 Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Allstate Corp purchased a new position in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 8,308 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,105,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Hess by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,141,244 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,408,117,000 after purchasing an additional 296,406 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hess by 1.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,537,162 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $884,709,000 after buying an additional 74,085 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Hess by 58.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,753,126 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $509,675,000 after acquiring an additional 1,391,311 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Hess by 46.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,930,509 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $389,787,000 after acquiring an additional 927,093 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Hess by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,838,079 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $244,483,000 after acquiring an additional 82,703 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Trading Down 0.4 %

HES stock opened at $158.48 on Monday. Hess Co. has a 52-week low of $123.79 and a 52-week high of $163.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market cap of $48.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.61 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $147.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $142.00.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Hess’s payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup increased their price objective on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total value of $27,877,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,384,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $379,879,364.70. This trade represents a 6.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 9.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.