Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. Sells 8,681 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. reduced its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 82.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,813 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 8,681 shares during the quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd.’s holdings in Hess were worth $241,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Hess in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hess in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hess in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hess in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its stake in Hess by 225.6% during the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 293 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hess Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HES opened at $134.86 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $41.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.98 and a beta of 0.61. Hess Co. has a 12 month low of $123.79 and a 12 month high of $161.69. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $139.25 and its 200 day moving average is $141.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

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). The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.16 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hess

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the 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 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 SEC, which is available at this link. 9.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Hess from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. 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. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. 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 report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.