Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Acquires 4,886 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 86.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,533 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,886 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $1,430,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Hess by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,867 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $570,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 4.9% during the second quarter. M&G Plc now owns 39,278 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $5,813,000 after acquiring an additional 1,822 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Hess by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,064 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $895,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its position in Hess by 29.5% during the 2nd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 2,276 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $336,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its stake in Hess by 255.1% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 6,836 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,008,000 after purchasing an additional 4,911 shares in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hess Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:HES opened at $142.90 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $141.53 and a 200 day moving average of $141.62. The company has a market cap of $44.03 billion, a PE ratio of 16.66 and a beta of 1.17. Hess Co. has a 12-month low of $123.79 and a 12-month high of $163.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.26. Hess had a net margin of 20.58% and a return on equity of 27.41%. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 9.74 EPS for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.31%.

Insider Transactions at Hess

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.08, for a total transaction of $18,385,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 217,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,047,849.52. This represents a 36.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total value of $851,460.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 27,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,914,019.71. The trade was a 17.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 314,370 shares of company stock valued at $45,856,309 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on HES shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Monday. Scotiabank upped their price target on Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.50.

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.