Moran Wealth Management LLC Sells 275 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Moran Wealth Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,625 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 275 shares during the quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $748,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Hess during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Hess during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Groupama Asset Managment grew its holdings in Hess by 22.7% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 22,606 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 4,186 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of Hess by 59.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hess in the third quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on HES. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group raised their price target on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. 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. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Hess in a report on Monday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hess currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.60.

Hess Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HES opened at $144.34 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.04 and a beta of 1.21. Hess Co. has a one year low of $123.79 and a one year high of $163.98. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $144.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $140.07. 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 (NYSE:HES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. Sell-side analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is 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.