New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Takes Position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 23,841 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $3,171,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HES. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in Hess in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Hess in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Hess in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Hess during the third quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hess during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Hess

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total transaction of $27,877,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,384,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $379,879,364.70. The trade was a 6.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Hess Stock Performance

Shares of Hess stock opened at $158.48 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $147.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $141.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.12. Hess Co. has a one year low of $123.79 and a one year high of $163.98. The company has a market cap of $48.86 billion, a PE ratio of 17.61 and a beta of 1.21.

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

Hess Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

HES has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price objective 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 Hess to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup increased their target price on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Hess in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.60.

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.