Alliancebernstein L.P. Trims Holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Alliancebernstein L.P. trimmed its holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 319,147 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 4,359 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.10% of Hess worth $42,450,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in Hess in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Hess in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its holdings in Hess by 22.7% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 22,606 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 4,186 shares in the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in Hess in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Hess in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Remove Ads

Hess Stock Down 2.4 %

Hess stock traded down $3.21 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $130.35. The stock had a trading volume of 2,970,138 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,877,224. Hess Co. has a 52 week low of $120.00 and a 52 week high of $163.98. The company has a market cap of $40.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.48 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The business's 50 day moving average price is $148.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $142.82.

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

Hess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. Hess's payout ratio is 22.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total transaction of $27,877,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,384,679 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $379,879,364.70. The trade was a 6.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 9.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.