Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Acquires 20,984 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 15.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 160,063 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 20,984 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of Hess worth $21,290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on HES. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Monday, May 5th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. UBS Group reduced their price target on Hess from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price objective on Hess from $160.00 to $136.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hess currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $164.46.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HES opened at $132.06 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $40.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.67 and a beta of 0.61. The business’s 50 day moving average is $140.25 and its 200-day moving average is $141.44. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $123.79 and a 1-year high of $161.69.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.16 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the business’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 in the company, 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company 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.