American Century Companies Inc. Purchases 42,797 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 14.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 333,056 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after buying an additional 42,797 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.11% of Hess worth $44,300,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in shares of Hess by 19.1% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 16,369 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $2,224,000 after buying an additional 2,630 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Hess by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 18,862 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $2,561,000 after acquiring an additional 1,764 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Hess in the 3rd quarter worth $114,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Hess by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 397,926 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $54,038,000 after acquiring an additional 4,287 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess in the third quarter valued at about $298,000. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hess Stock Performance

NYSE HES traded up $1.59 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $161.32. 1,566,477 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,859,627. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.92 and a beta of 1.21. Hess Co. has a 12-month low of $123.79 and a 12-month high of $163.98. The business has a 50 day moving average of $148.21 and a 200-day moving average of $142.46.

Remove Ads

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. Hess's payout ratio is 22.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was 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 directly owns 2,384,679 shares in the company, valued at $379,879,364.70. This represents a 6.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 9.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on HES shares. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Hess from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded Hess to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Hess in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.