Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Stake Trimmed by LGT Group Foundation

LGT Group Foundation lowered its stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 33.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,135 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 4,655 shares during the quarter. LGT Group Foundation’s holdings in Hess were worth $1,215,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HES. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Hess during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its position in 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 during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Hess by 59.8% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Hess during the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Hess during the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Stock Down 3.4 %

Shares of HES stock opened at $143.83 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $142.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $139.75. 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 twelve month low of $123.79 and a twelve month high of $163.98. The company has a market capitalization of $44.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.98 and a beta of 1.17.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. As a group, research analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Hess’s payout ratio is 22.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup raised 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. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Hess in a report on Sunday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Pickering Energy Partners upgraded Hess to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.60.

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.