MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. Raises Stock Position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 99.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 100,445 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 50,109 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd.’s holdings in Hess were worth $13,360,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Hess Price Performance

Hess stock opened at $134.97 on Friday. Hess Co. has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $161.69. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $139.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $141.33. The company has a market cap of $41.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.00 and a beta of 0.61.

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

Hess Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. 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 currently 27.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HES has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho cut their price target on Hess from $193.00 to $191.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $136.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Hess from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hess has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $162.16.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hess

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $379,879,364.70. This represents a 6.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 9.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.