Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Shares Purchased by LMR Partners LLP

LMR Partners LLP lifted its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 50.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 382,589 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 129,000 shares during the quarter. Hess accounts for approximately 0.4% of LMR Partners LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. LMR Partners LLP’s holdings in Hess were worth $50,888,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. LRI Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Hess by 34.6% during the 4th quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 478 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Hess by 192.9% during the fourth quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 75,921 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $10,098,000 after purchasing an additional 49,999 shares during the last quarter. Interval Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Hess during the fourth quarter worth $2,523,000. Investment Management Corp of Ontario raised its holdings in shares of Hess by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 9,748 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,297,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the period. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Hess by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 160,063 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $21,290,000 after buying an additional 20,984 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE HES opened at $132.06 on Monday. 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 12 month low of $123.79 and a 12 month high of $161.69. The company has a market cap of $40.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.67 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $140.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $141.46.

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

Hess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.66%.

Insider Activity at Hess

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total transaction of $27,877,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 9.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on HES. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Hess from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Monday, May 5th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $136.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $164.46.

Hess Company 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.