National Pension Service Sells 159,824 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

National Pension Service reduced its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 29.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 376,558 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 159,824 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in Hess were worth $50,086,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of HES. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hess in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its stake in Hess by 22.7% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Hess by 59.8% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Hess during the third quarter worth $37,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC boosted its stake in Hess by 157.2% during the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 355 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on HES shares. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock 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 note on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hess in a research note on Saturday, February 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hess presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.60.

Hess Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE HES opened at $146.88 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Hess Co. has a 52 week low of $123.79 and a 52 week high of $163.98. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $142.23 and its 200 day moving average is $139.52. The company has a market cap of $45.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.32 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.22%.

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.