Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Shares Purchased by Maven Securities LTD

Maven Securities LTD boosted its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 7.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 83,097 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 5,499 shares during the quarter. Hess accounts for 0.3% of Maven Securities LTD’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Maven Securities LTD’s holdings in Hess were worth $11,053,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Hess by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 2,154 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in Hess by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,971 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $528,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hess by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,682 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hess by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,809 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in Hess by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 629 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Stock Performance

Shares of HES stock opened at $135.03 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.00 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a fifty day moving average of $140.12 and a 200 day moving average of $141.44. Hess Co. has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $161.69. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.14). Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. The company had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.16 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of Hess stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total transaction of $27,877,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,384,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $379,879,364.70. The trade was a 6.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 9.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on HES shares. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Hess from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Hess from $160.00 to $136.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price target on Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $164.46.

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.