Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Acquires 73 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,971 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 73 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Hess were worth $528,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Hess during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Hess during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Groupama Asset Managment increased its position in Hess by 22.7% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 22,606 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 4,186 shares during the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Hess in the third quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hess during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 88.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hess Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Hess stock opened at $156.59 on Friday. Hess Co. has a 12-month low of $123.79 and a 12-month high of $163.98. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $146.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $140.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.40 and a beta of 1.21.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. Hess’s payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HES has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com started coverage on Hess in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hess presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.60.

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.