ING Groep NV Buys 119,636 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

ING Groep NV increased its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 22.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 652,900 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 119,636 shares during the quarter. Hess accounts for 0.6% of ING Groep NV’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. ING Groep NV owned 0.21% of Hess worth $86,842,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Hess during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its position in Hess by 22.7% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 22,606 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 4,186 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Hess by 59.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Hess in the third quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new position in Hess in the third quarter worth $48,000. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Hess Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of HES stock opened at $149.21 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.97 billion, a PE ratio of 16.58 and a beta of 1.17. Hess Co. has a 1-year low of $123.79 and a 1-year high of $163.98. The business has a 50-day moving average of $140.53 and a 200 day moving average of $138.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

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

Hess Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

Insider Activity at Hess

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 92,894 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.80, for a total value of $13,729,733.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 229,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,914,927. This trade represents a 28.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 9.76% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.