Gabelli Funds LLC Has $61.53 Million Holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Gabelli Funds LLC decreased its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 6.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 417,100 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 29,400 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC owned 0.14% of Hess worth $61,531,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HES. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Hess by 0.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,126,526 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $4,903,793,000 after purchasing an additional 294,146 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its stake in Hess by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 8,098,012 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,194,619,000 after buying an additional 340,490 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Hess by 34.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,835,486 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $418,291,000 after acquiring an additional 726,631 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Hess by 11.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,798,788 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $265,359,000 after acquiring an additional 181,459 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in Hess by 76.4% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,532,132 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $227,273,000 after acquiring an additional 663,338 shares during the period. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hess Price Performance

NYSE:HES opened at $134.40 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $41.41 billion, a PE ratio of 20.58 and a beta of 1.15. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $138.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $147.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Hess Co. has a 12 month low of $123.79 and a 12 month high of $167.75.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $3.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.24 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 27.43% and a net margin of 21.22%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 40.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.65 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 11.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. This is a positive change from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HES has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Hess to an “overweight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $175.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on Hess from $165.00 to $157.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Hess from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $166.00 to $172.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Hess from $151.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $171.31.

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.