Brooklyn Investment Group Acquires 581 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Brooklyn Investment Group grew its holdings in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 69.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,420 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 581 shares during the quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group’s holdings in Hess were worth $189,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Covestor Ltd increased its position 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 buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hess during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Eastern Bank bought a new position in shares of Hess in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. LRI Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Hess by 157.2% in the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 355 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in Hess during the third quarter worth approximately $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on HES shares. Pickering Energy Partners raised Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Hess from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 92,894 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.80, for a total transaction of $13,729,733.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 229,465 shares in the company, valued at $33,914,927. This represents a 28.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing 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 transaction of $851,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 27,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,914,019.71. The trade was a 17.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 314,370 shares of company stock worth $45,856,309. Insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Hess Price Performance

Hess stock opened at $151.33 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $140.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $139.57. Hess Co. has a one year low of $123.79 and a one year high of $163.98. The company has a market capitalization of $46.63 billion, a PE ratio of 17.64 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.96 billion. Hess had a net margin of 20.58% and a return on equity of 27.41%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.64 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 9.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Hess’s payout ratio is 23.31%.

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.