Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Shares Bought by Baird Financial Group Inc.

Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 8,243 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Hess were worth $1,096,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Hess in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its stake in shares of Hess by 225.6% in the 4th 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,384,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $379,879,364.70. This trade represents a 6.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 9.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of 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 shares of Hess from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Hess from $151.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hess currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $162.16.

Hess Stock Performance

Shares of HES stock opened at $135.70 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 52 week low of $123.79 and a 52 week high of $161.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.97 billion, a PE ratio of 15.08 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $139.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $141.40.

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

Hess Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. Hess’s payout ratio is 27.66%.

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.