Sierra Ocean LLC Purchases Shares of 203 Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 203 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $27,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hess during the 3rd quarter worth about $92,000. Creative Planning raised its position in shares of Hess by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 19,369 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,630,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Hess by 60.8% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,219 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $180,000 after acquiring an additional 461 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of Hess by 100.2% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 98,429 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $13,367,000 after acquiring an additional 49,267 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Hess during the 3rd quarter worth about $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised their target price on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Pickering Energy Partners raised Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup lifted their price target on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Hess in a research report on Friday, February 14th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.60.

Insider Activity at Hess

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 92,894 shares of Hess stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.80, for a total transaction of $13,729,733.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 229,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,914,927. The trade was a 28.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Hess Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of HES stock opened at $148.04 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Hess Co. has a twelve month low of $123.79 and a twelve month high of $163.98. The company has a market capitalization of $45.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.45 and a beta of 1.17. The business’s 50 day moving average is $140.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $138.78.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. Equities analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 7.69 EPS for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.22%.

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.