Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Has $10.10 Million Position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 192.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 75,921 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 49,999 shares during the quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $10,098,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of HES. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Hess by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 2,154 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $287,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Hess by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,971 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $528,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Hess by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,682 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Hess by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,809 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Hess by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 629 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,384,679 shares in the company, valued at $379,879,364.70. This represents a 6.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 9.10% of the company’s stock.

Hess Stock Performance

HES opened at $132.06 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $140.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $141.46. Hess Co. has a 1-year low of $123.79 and a 1-year 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.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released 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). Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. The business 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 company posted $3.16 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. Hess’s payout ratio is 27.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HES has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Hess in a research report on Monday, May 5th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Susquehanna lowered 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. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Hess from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price objective on Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $164.46.

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.