WINTON GROUP Ltd Sells 9,485 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

WINTON GROUP Ltd reduced its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 54.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,896 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 9,485 shares during the quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd’s holdings in Hess were worth $1,050,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Hess by 58.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,753,126 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $509,675,000 after purchasing an additional 1,391,311 shares in the last quarter. HBK Investments L P raised its position in shares of Hess by 16.7% in the third quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 7,117,820 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $966,600,000 after buying an additional 1,017,720 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Hess by 46.3% in the fourth 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 buying an additional 927,093 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in Hess during the third quarter worth about $75,126,000. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in Hess in the 4th quarter worth about $47,056,000. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hess Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE HES opened at $158.48 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $48.86 billion, a PE ratio of 17.61 and a beta of 1.21. Hess Co. has a 1-year low of $123.79 and a 1-year high of $163.98. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $147.78 and a 200-day moving average of $141.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

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

Hess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. Hess’s payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total value of $27,877,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,384,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $379,879,364.70. This trade represents a 6.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HES has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. 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 research report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup lifted their target price 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. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded 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 Wednesday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on 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 issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.