Apollon Wealth Management LLC Invests $302,000 in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,272 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $302,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 59.8% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hess during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in shares of Hess during the 3rd quarter valued at $48,000. LRI Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hess by 157.2% during the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 355 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Hess during the 3rd quarter valued at $55,000. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 125,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 217,894 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,047,849.52. This represents a 36.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 9.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Hess Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:HES traded up $0.96 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $147.51. 292,628 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,929,741. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.39 and a beta of 1.17. Hess Co. has a 52 week low of $123.79 and a 52 week high of $163.98. The firm's 50 day moving average is $140.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $138.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. Hess's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

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.