Amalgamated Bank Sells 1,257 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Amalgamated Bank lessened its holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 55,702 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 1,257 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Hess were worth $7,409,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Hess by 58.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,753,126 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $509,675,000 after acquiring an additional 1,391,311 shares during the period. HBK Investments L P grew its position in shares of Hess by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 7,117,820 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $966,600,000 after acquiring an additional 1,017,720 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Hess by 46.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,930,509 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $389,787,000 after purchasing an additional 927,093 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Hess by 31.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,318,822 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $450,696,000 after purchasing an additional 785,270 shares during the period. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in Hess during the third quarter valued at $75,126,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HES opened at $145.42 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market cap of $44.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.16 and a beta of 1.17. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $141.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $139.47. Hess Co. has a fifty-two week low of $123.79 and a fifty-two week high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on HES. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Saturday, February 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.60.

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.