Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 76.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,188 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 3,541 shares during the quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $1,089,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HES. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Groupama Asset Managment raised 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 purchasing an additional 4,186 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of Hess by 59.8% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess during the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Hess during the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of HES opened at $148.08 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $45.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.45 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $144.33 and a 200-day moving average of $140.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Hess Co. has a 52 week low of $123.79 and a 52 week high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. As a group, analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group upped their price target on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup increased their price objective on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com began coverage on Hess in a research report on Monday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.