Blue Trust Inc. Raises Stock Position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 44.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,760 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 541 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Hess were worth $239,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of HES. HBK Investments L P boosted its position in shares of Hess by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 7,117,820 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $966,600,000 after purchasing an additional 1,017,720 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Hess by 1.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,537,162 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $884,709,000 after buying an additional 74,085 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Hess by 58.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,753,126 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $509,675,000 after acquiring an additional 1,391,311 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Hess by 31.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,318,822 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $450,696,000 after buying an additional 785,270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Hess by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,755,376 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $238,380,000 after acquiring an additional 43,061 shares in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HES opened at $138.88 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $140.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $139.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.79 billion, a PE ratio of 15.43 and a beta of 1.18. Hess Co. has a fifty-two week low of $123.79 and a fifty-two week high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 7.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Hess’s payout ratio is 22.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on HES shares. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded Hess to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 92,894 shares of Hess stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.80, for a total value of $13,729,733.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 229,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,914,927. The trade was a 28.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction of $851,460.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 27,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,914,019.71. This represents a 17.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 314,370 shares of company stock valued at $45,856,309. Insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

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.