Federated Hermes Inc. Trims Position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Federated Hermes Inc. reduced its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 11.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 379,868 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 51,142 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Hess were worth $54,762,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Arvest Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hess in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,407,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 1,456.8% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 7,504 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,082,000 after buying an additional 7,022 shares during the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Hess in the fourth quarter valued at $967,000. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY grew its position in Hess by 75.3% during the fourth quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 39,249 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $5,658,000 after acquiring an additional 16,861 shares during the period. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in Hess by 8.7% during the third quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 564,454 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $86,361,000 after acquiring an additional 45,246 shares during the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on HES. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Wednesday. They set a “sell” rating on the stock. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Hess from $152.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Mizuho increased their target price on Hess from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on Hess from $172.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $176.75.

Hess Trading Up 1.7 %

HES opened at $154.35 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $149.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $146.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.56 billion, a PE ratio of 34.30 and a beta of 1.27. Hess Co. has a 12-month low of $124.27 and a 12-month high of $167.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.76 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 17.00% and a net margin of 12.98%. Hess’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.78 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 8.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.4375 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 15th. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.13%. Hess’s payout ratio is 38.89%.

Insider Transactions at Hess

In related news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 13,921 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.08, for a total transaction of $2,103,184.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 33,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,073,417.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Hess news, EVP Timothy B. Goodell sold 2,701 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.52, for a total value of $390,348.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 162,144 shares in the company, valued at $23,433,050.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 13,921 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.08, for a total transaction of $2,103,184.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 33,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,073,417.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 155,798 shares of company stock worth $22,811,166. 9.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.