Sunbelt Securities Inc. Purchases 141 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 13.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,211 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in Hess were worth $185,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in Hess during the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Strategic Planning Group LLC lifted its holdings in Hess by 18.1% in the first quarter. Strategic Planning Group LLC now owns 8,481 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,295,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY boosted its stake in Hess by 0.4% in the first quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 39,387 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $6,012,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA grew its holdings in Hess by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 4,724 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $721,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the period. Finally, Clarus Wealth Advisors raised its position in shares of Hess by 11.4% during the 1st quarter. Clarus Wealth Advisors now owns 2,794 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $441,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Hess from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Hess from $164.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Hess from $172.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Hess from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Friday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $177.83.

Hess Price Performance

HES stock opened at $147.52 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $45.45 billion, a PE ratio of 22.59 and a beta of 1.19. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $152.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $148.75. Hess Co. has a 1 year low of $129.12 and a 1 year high of $167.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas producer reported $3.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $1.43. Hess had a return on equity of 22.73% and a net margin of 17.41%. The business had revenue of $3.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.98 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.13 EPS. Hess’s revenue for the quarter was up 36.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 10.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were given a $0.4375 dividend. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.80%.

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.