Xponance Inc. Acquires 2,420 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Xponance Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 52,742 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 2,420 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Hess were worth $7,780,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new stake in Hess in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hess in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hess in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Hess during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Hess by 47.6% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 273 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of HES opened at $135.32 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $137.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $146.97. The company has a market cap of $41.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.72 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Hess Co. has a twelve month low of $123.79 and a twelve month high of $167.75.

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

Hess Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. This is an increase from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on HES shares. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Hess in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Hess from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $166.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Hess from $151.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Hess from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $171.31.

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.