Whittier Trust Co. Sells 1,381 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Whittier Trust Co. trimmed its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,629 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 1,381 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Hess were worth $3,409,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in Hess by 780.9% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 16,358 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,176,000 after acquiring an additional 14,501 shares during the last quarter. Decagon Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in Hess in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $24,386,000. Birnam Oak Advisors LP acquired a new stake in Hess in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $17,998,000. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. boosted its position in Hess by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 6,657 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $885,000 after buying an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in Hess by 19.5% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,058 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $407,000 after buying an additional 498 shares in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hess Price Performance

HES stock opened at $156.59 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $48.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.40 and a beta of 1.21. 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 12-month low of $123.79 and a 12-month high of $163.98. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $146.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $140.78.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. On average, analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

About Hess

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.