Savant Capital LLC Raises Holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Savant Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 11.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,088 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 425 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $544,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Groupama Asset Managment grew its stake in shares of Hess by 22.7% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 22,606 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 4,186 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Hess by 59.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Hess in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Hess in the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC boosted its position in Hess by 157.2% in the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 355 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Hess

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.08, for a total value of $18,385,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 217,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,047,849.52. This represents a 36.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Hess Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of HES stock opened at $146.65 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The company has a market cap of $45.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.29 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $140.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $138.84. Hess Co. has a 1-year low of $123.79 and a 1-year high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 7.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Hess’s payout ratio is 22.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on HES shares. Citigroup upped their target price on 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 research report on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group upped their target price on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on Hess in a research report on Friday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.60.

About Hess

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.