Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Holdings Raised by Prospector Partners LLC

Prospector Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 59,983 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 441 shares during the period. Prospector Partners LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $8,146,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new position in shares of Hess in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Hess by 47.6% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 273 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Hess in the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Hess during the third quarter valued at approximately $55,000. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Hess

In related news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 27,581 shares in the company, valued at $3,914,019.71. This trade represents a 17.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.47, for a total value of $12,890,115.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 223,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,791,753.09. The trade was a 28.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 314,370 shares of company stock valued at $45,856,309 in the last quarter. Insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Hess Price Performance

NYSE HES opened at $145.35 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.79 billion, a PE ratio of 16.94 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Hess Co. has a 12 month low of $123.79 and a 12 month high of $163.98. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $139.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $142.38.

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

Hess Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho cut their price target on Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com started coverage on Hess in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Hess from $171.00 to $151.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 27th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Hess from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Hess from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hess currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $163.30.

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.