Coldstream Capital Management Inc. Grows Stock Position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 6.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,457 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Hess were worth $593,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HES. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Hess during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Hess in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hess during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its position in shares of Hess by 225.6% in the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 293 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of HES stock opened at $132.35 on Wednesday. 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 fifty-two week low of $123.79 and a fifty-two week high of $163.13. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $142.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $141.90. The stock has a market cap of $40.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.71 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Hess’s payout ratio is 22.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on HES. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Hess from $160.00 to $136.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group dropped their target price on Hess from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Sunday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hess presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.46.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of Hess stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total transaction 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 $379,879,364.70. The trade was a 6.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 9.10% 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.