Yousif Capital Management LLC Sells 1,314 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Yousif Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 3.5% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 35,988 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 1,314 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $5,748,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HES. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hess in the fourth quarter valued at $3,117,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hess by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,838,079 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $244,483,000 after buying an additional 82,703 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in Hess by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 43,085 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $5,731,000 after buying an additional 1,861 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Hess by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 333,056 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $44,300,000 after buying an additional 42,797 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC raised its holdings in Hess by 34.1% in the 4th quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 19,235 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,558,000 after acquiring an additional 4,891 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Hess

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 225,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.18, for a total transaction of $29,965,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,984,679 shares in the company, valued at $264,319,549.22. This represents a 10.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold 650,000 shares of company stock valued at $91,845,500 over the last three months. 9.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hess Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE HES opened at $140.52 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.61 and a beta of 0.62. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $132.01 and its 200 day moving average is $140.23. Hess Co. has a 52 week low of $123.79 and a 52 week 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.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its 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 during 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%. Hess’s quarterly revenue was down 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.16 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is 27.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Hess from $163.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Mizuho reduced their price target on Hess from $193.00 to $191.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Hess to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Susquehanna reduced their target price 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. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $163.16.

Hess 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.