Checchi Capital Advisers LLC Grows Holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,154 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $287,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of HES. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hess during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Groupama Asset Managment raised its holdings in Hess by 22.7% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 22,606 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 4,186 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of Hess by 59.8% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hess in the third quarter worth $37,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC boosted its position in Hess by 157.2% during the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 355 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the period. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of Hess stock opened at $146.88 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $142.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $139.52. The company has a market cap of $45.26 billion, a PE ratio of 16.32 and a beta of 1.17. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $123.79 and a fifty-two week high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. Analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Pickering Energy Partners raised shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Saturday, February 22nd. They set 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, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.60.

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.