Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC Sells 94 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,913 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 94 shares during the period. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $520,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in Hess in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Hess during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in Hess during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Hess in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its stake in Hess by 225.6% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of Hess stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $379,879,364.70. This trade represents a 6.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 9.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hess Stock Performance

Shares of HES stock opened at $134.97 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $139.44 and its 200 day moving average is $141.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.12. The company has a market capitalization of $41.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.00 and a beta of 0.61. Hess Co. has a one year low of $123.79 and a one year high of $161.69.

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

Hess Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Hess’s payout ratio is 27.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HES has been the subject of a number of research reports. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $136.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Scotiabank lowered 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. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Hess from $151.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Hess from $193.00 to $191.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hess currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $162.16.

About Hess

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.