Victory Capital Management Inc. Trims Holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Victory Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 11.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 82,476 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 10,274 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Hess were worth $10,970,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 58.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,753,126 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $509,675,000 after purchasing an additional 1,391,311 shares during the period. HBK Investments L P increased its holdings in Hess by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 7,117,820 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $966,600,000 after buying an additional 1,017,720 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Hess by 46.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,930,509 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $389,787,000 after buying an additional 927,093 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Hess by 31.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,318,822 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $450,696,000 after purchasing an additional 785,270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Hess during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $75,126,000. 88.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hess Stock Performance

Hess stock opened at $143.65 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.96 and a beta of 1.21. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $144.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $140.12. Hess Co. has a 52 week low of $123.79 and a 52 week high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on HES shares. Pickering Energy Partners raised Hess to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com began coverage on Hess in a research report on Monday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.