Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co Sells 5,107 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co lessened its stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 20.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,371 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 5,107 shares during the period. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Hess were worth $2,577,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Hess by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,141,244 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $4,408,117,000 after acquiring an additional 296,406 shares in the last quarter. HBK Investments L P raised its stake in shares of Hess by 16.7% in the third quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 7,117,820 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $966,600,000 after purchasing an additional 1,017,720 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Hess by 1.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,537,162 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $884,709,000 after purchasing an additional 74,085 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Hess by 58.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,753,126 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $509,675,000 after buying an additional 1,391,311 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Hess by 46.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,930,509 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $389,787,000 after buying an additional 927,093 shares during the period. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hess Stock Down 0.4 %

Hess stock opened at $158.48 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $147.78 and a 200-day moving average of $141.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.12 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 stock has a market capitalization of $48.86 billion, a PE ratio of 17.61 and a beta of 1.21.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total value of $27,877,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,384,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $379,879,364.70. This trade represents a 6.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 9.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded Hess to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Hess in a research note on Wednesday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Citigroup lifted 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. Six research 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 has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.60.

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.