Symmetry Investments LP Sells 332,103 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Symmetry Investments LP trimmed its holdings in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 27.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 874,823 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 332,103 shares during the period. Hess accounts for approximately 14.5% of Symmetry Investments LP’s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Symmetry Investments LP owned approximately 0.28% of Hess worth $129,054,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HES. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hess by 0.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,126,526 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,903,793,000 after purchasing an additional 294,146 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 4.4% in the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 8,098,012 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,194,619,000 after purchasing an additional 340,490 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Hess by 34.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,835,486 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $418,291,000 after purchasing an additional 726,631 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Hess by 11.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,798,788 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $265,359,000 after buying an additional 181,459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in Hess by 76.4% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,532,132 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $227,273,000 after buying an additional 663,338 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HES has been the topic of several recent research reports. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Hess from $165.00 to $157.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 12th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Friday, June 28th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price target on Hess from $151.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Hess presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $171.31.

Hess Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE:HES opened at $134.40 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $41.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.58 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $138.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $147.00. Hess Co. has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $167.75.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $3.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.24 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 27.43% and a net margin of 21.22%. Hess’s revenue for the quarter was up 40.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.65 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 11.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Hess’s payout ratio is currently 30.63%.

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.