AGF Management Ltd. Boosts Stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

AGF Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 18.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,120 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after buying an additional 2,986 shares during the period. AGF Management Ltd.'s holdings in Hess were worth $2,543,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HES has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Hess from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Pickering Energy Partners raised Hess to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com began coverage on Hess in a research report on Monday. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price target on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $170.60.

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Hess Stock Performance

Shares of HES stock opened at $143.65 on Friday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $144.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $140.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Hess Co. has a 52 week low of $123.79 and a 52 week high of $163.98. The company has a market cap of $44.29 billion, a PE ratio of 15.96 and a beta of 1.21.

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

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

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.

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