Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Shares Acquired by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,246 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $848,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Hess by 64.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 774 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $103,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Hess by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 4,117 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $548,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Hess by 3.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 326,921 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $44,396,000 after purchasing an additional 10,738 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its stake in Hess by 330.3% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 262,316 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $35,623,000 after purchasing an additional 201,349 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new stake in Hess during the 3rd quarter worth about $23,765,000. 88.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HES has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Pickering Energy Partners raised Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Hess from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Monday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.50.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of HES opened at $148.79 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Hess Co. has a 1-year low of $123.79 and a 1-year high of $163.98. The stock has a market cap of $45.84 billion, a PE ratio of 17.34 and a beta of 1.18. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $140.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $139.41.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.96 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 27.41% and a net margin of 20.58%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.64 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 9.74 EPS for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.31%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 125,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.08, for a total value of $18,385,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 217,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,047,849.52. This represents a 36.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total value of $851,460.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 27,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,914,019.71. This represents a 17.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 314,370 shares of company stock valued at $45,856,309. 9.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.