Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 10,738 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 3.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 326,921 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,738 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Hess worth $44,396,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of HES. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in Hess by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 49,162 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $7,252,000 after acquiring an additional 778 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its stake in Hess by 0.3% during the second quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 60,967 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $8,994,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Hess by 34.5% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,835,486 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $418,291,000 after purchasing an additional 726,631 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its stake in Hess by 0.4% in the second quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 75,741 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $11,173,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hess by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 12,007 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,771,000 after buying an additional 768 shares in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hess Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE HES opened at $128.19 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.94 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $140.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $140.74. Hess Co. has a 12 month low of $123.79 and a 12 month high of $163.98.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.26. Hess had a net margin of 20.58% and a return on equity of 27.41%. The company had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.64 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 9.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Hess’s payout ratio is 23.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 125,000 shares of Hess stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.08, for a total transaction of $18,385,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 217,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,047,849.52. This represents a 36.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 314,370 shares of company stock valued at $45,856,309. Insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on HES. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com started coverage on Hess in a research report on Friday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a report on Friday, September 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.50.

About Hess

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.