Cynosure Group LLC Increases Position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Cynosure Group LLC boosted its stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 8,164 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 418 shares during the period. Cynosure Group LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $1,109,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of HES. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new position in Hess during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of Hess by 59.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Hess by 47.6% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 273 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Hess during the 3rd quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in Hess in the third quarter valued at $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Hess from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Hess from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hess presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $163.30.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hess

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 223,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,791,753.09. This represents a 28.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 17.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 314,370 shares of company stock worth $45,856,309 over the last 90 days. 9.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hess Price Performance

NYSE HES opened at $146.33 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $139.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $142.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.05 and a beta of 1.15. Hess Co. has a 52 week low of $123.79 and a 52 week high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.96 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 27.41% and a net margin of 20.58%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.64 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 9.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. This is a boost from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is 23.31%.

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.