Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) CEO John B. Hess Sells 225,000 Shares of Stock

Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) CEO John B. Hess sold 225,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.18, for a total value of $29,965,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,984,679 shares in the company, valued at $264,319,549.22. The trade was a 10.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Hess Stock Up 2.2%

HES stock opened at $135.98 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market cap of $42.06 billion, a PE ratio of 15.11 and a beta of 0.62. Hess Co. has a 12 month low of $123.79 and a 12 month high of $161.69. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $132.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $140.42.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $2.92 billion for 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%. Hess’s revenue was down 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.16 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is 27.66%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hess

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Hess during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new stake in shares of Hess during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hess during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Hess by 106.2% in the 1st quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 200 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Analysts LLC boosted its position in Hess by 367.4% during the first quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 201 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on HES shares. Wall Street Zen raised Hess to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group decreased their target price 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. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Hess from $193.00 to $191.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, 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, May 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $162.16.

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.