Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. Purchases 352 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. increased its stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 5.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,657 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc.’s holdings in Hess were worth $885,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of HES. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Hess in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hess in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Groupama Asset Managment increased its stake in shares of Hess by 22.7% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 22,606 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 4,186 shares in the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hess in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hess in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Price Performance

HES opened at $150.43 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The company has a market capitalization of $46.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.71 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $145.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $140.32. Hess Co. has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Pickering Energy Partners raised shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of 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 research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.60.

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.