Creative Planning Acquires 241 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,369 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the quarter. Creative Planning’s holdings in Hess were worth $2,630,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 13.2% in the 1st quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,211 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $185,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Hess by 13.7% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,841 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $892,000 after acquiring an additional 706 shares during the last quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Hess in the first quarter valued at $201,000. Breakwater Capital Group raised its position in Hess by 8.2% during the first quarter. Breakwater Capital Group now owns 1,629 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $249,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its stake in Hess by 10.3% during the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 855 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $131,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hess Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE HES opened at $138.02 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $135.45 and its 200 day moving average is $144.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.53 billion, a PE ratio of 21.14 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Hess Co. has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $163.98.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.14. Hess had a return on equity of 27.43% and a net margin of 21.22%. The firm had revenue of $3.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.65 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 40.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This is a positive change from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is 30.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HES has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Hess from $171.00 to $151.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 27th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Mizuho reduced their target price 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. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price objective on Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hess has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $164.00.

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.