Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Has $2.88 Million Stock Position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 400.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,520 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,619 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Hess were worth $2,880,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new position in shares of Hess during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in Hess during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Hess in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in Hess in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Hess by 47.6% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 273 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hess Stock Performance

NYSE:HES opened at $131.39 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.12 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Hess Co. has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $167.75. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $138.73 and a 200-day moving average of $147.17.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $3.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.24 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 27.43% and a net margin of 21.22%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 40.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.65 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 11.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is 30.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HES has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Hess from $151.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Hess to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $175.00 to $160.00 in a report on Monday, August 19th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $171.31.

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.