Kestra Investment Management LLC Buys Shares of 1,226 Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,226 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $163,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Hess in the 4th quarter worth about $3,117,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hess during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,274,000. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Hess by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 59,927 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $7,971,000 after purchasing an additional 3,625 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Hess by 20.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,213,574 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $169,767,000 after purchasing an additional 208,996 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its holdings in Hess by 34.1% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 19,235 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,558,000 after purchasing an additional 4,891 shares during the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on HES shares. UBS Group increased their price target on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Hess in a research report on Friday, February 14th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded Hess to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.60.

Hess Stock Performance

HES opened at $151.19 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $46.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.80 and a beta of 1.17. Hess Co. has a 1-year low of $123.79 and a 1-year high of $163.98. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $140.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $138.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. Equities analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

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.