Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Holdings Lifted by ING Groep NV

ING Groep NV lifted its holdings in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 267.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 533,264 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 388,273 shares during the period. ING Groep NV owned approximately 0.17% of Hess worth $72,417,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in HES. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Hess by 34.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,835,486 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $418,291,000 after purchasing an additional 726,631 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in shares of Hess by 76.4% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,532,132 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $227,273,000 after buying an additional 663,338 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in shares of Hess by 64.3% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,449,969 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $218,220,000 after purchasing an additional 567,550 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of Hess by 45.6% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,794,087 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $264,664,000 after acquiring an additional 561,832 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sculptor Capital LP increased its position in shares of Hess by 188.7% during the second quarter. Sculptor Capital LP now owns 765,542 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $112,933,000 after purchasing an additional 500,342 shares during the period. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HES has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a report on Friday, September 13th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Susquehanna raised their target price 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. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Hess from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $163.30.

Hess Price Performance

NYSE HES traded up $1.33 on Thursday, hitting $144.13. The stock had a trading volume of 264,897 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,101,302. Hess Co. has a 52-week low of $123.79 and a 52-week high of $163.98. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $136.09 and a 200-day moving average of $143.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.26. The company has a market capitalization of $44.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.65 and a beta of 1.15.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.64 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 9.76 EPS for the current year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. This is a positive change from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Hess’s payout ratio is presently 23.31%.

Insider Activity at Hess

In other news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 27,581 shares in the company, valued at $3,914,019.71. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.47, for a total transaction of $12,890,115.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 223,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,791,753.09. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 27,581 shares in the company, valued at $3,914,019.71. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hess Company 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.