Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Shares Bought by Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC

Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,682 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $224,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of HES. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 22.7% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 22,606 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 4,186 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess during the third quarter worth $37,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in Hess in the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC lifted its position in Hess by 157.2% during the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 355 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Monday, January 13th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.50.

Hess Price Performance

HES stock opened at $151.33 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $140.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $139.51. Hess Co. has a twelve month low of $123.79 and a twelve month high of $163.98. 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 company has a market capitalization of $46.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.64 and a beta of 1.18.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.64 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 9.51 EPS for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.31%.

Insider Transactions at Hess

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 92,894 shares of Hess stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.80, for a total transaction of $13,729,733.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 229,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,914,927. The trade was a 28.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total value of $851,460.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 27,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,914,019.71. This trade represents a 17.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 314,370 shares of company stock valued at $45,856,309 in the last ninety days. 9.76% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.