Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Stock Holdings Increased by Marshall Wace LLP

Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 45.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,794,087 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 561,832 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP owned 0.58% of Hess worth $264,664,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Hess in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hess in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Hess during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Hess by 47.6% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 273 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Hess Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of HES stock opened at $135.32 on Tuesday. Hess Co. has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $167.75. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $137.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $146.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.72 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 (NYSE:HES) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.14. Hess had a net margin of 21.22% and a return on equity of 27.43%. The business had revenue of $3.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.65 earnings per share. Hess’s revenue was up 40.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 11.04 EPS for the current year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This is a positive change from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Hess’s payout ratio is 30.63%.

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.