Advisors Capital Management LLC Sells 3,869 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Advisors Capital Management LLC lowered its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 22.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,194 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 3,869 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $1,755,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Hess during the 4th quarter worth about $201,000. Qtron Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Hess during the fourth quarter worth approximately $346,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Hess by 24.1% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 8,800 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,170,000 after purchasing an additional 1,708 shares in the last quarter. Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC lifted its stake in Hess by 32.8% in the fourth quarter. Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC now owns 89,093 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $11,850,000 after buying an additional 22,000 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Hess by 169.5% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 706 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hess Stock Performance

NYSE HES opened at $127.80 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $146.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $142.59. Hess Co. has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $163.98. The firm has a market cap of $39.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.20 and a beta of 0.88.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HES has been the topic of a number of research reports. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Friday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Pickering Energy Partners raised Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Six 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 an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.56.

Insider Transactions at Hess

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of Hess stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total value of $27,877,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,384,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $379,879,364.70. The trade was a 6.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

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.