MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB Purchases 257 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 43.3% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 851 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 257 shares during the quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB’s holdings in Hess were worth $136,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in HES. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew 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 valued at $389,787,000 after buying an additional 927,093 shares in the last quarter. Symmetry Investments LP grew its stake in shares of Hess by 154.1% in the 4th quarter. Symmetry Investments LP now owns 1,381,076 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $183,697,000 after buying an additional 837,662 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its position in Hess by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 11,438,985 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,521,499,000 after purchasing an additional 698,866 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in Hess by 164.1% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 769,042 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $102,290,000 after purchasing an additional 477,796 shares during the period. Finally, TIG Advisors LLC boosted its position in Hess by 101.2% during the fourth quarter. TIG Advisors LLC now owns 927,331 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $123,344,000 after purchasing an additional 466,518 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Stock Down 1.0%

HES opened at $132.32 on Monday. Hess Co. has a 1-year low of $123.79 and a 1-year high of $161.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.70 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a 50 day moving average of $135.08 and a 200-day moving average of $140.75.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.14). Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. The business had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.16 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is 27.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on HES shares. UBS Group decreased their target price on Hess from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Hess from $193.00 to $191.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen started coverage on Hess in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Hess from $151.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $162.16.

Insider Activity at Hess

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,384,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $379,879,364.70. This represents a 6.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 9.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.