Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Shares Purchased by Bridgewater Associates LP

Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its holdings in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 89,517 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 3,015 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP's holdings in Hess were worth $11,907,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in 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 worth $389,787,000 after purchasing an additional 927,093 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its position in Hess by 183.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 594,425 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $79,064,000 after buying an additional 384,595 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in shares of Hess during the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,056,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of Hess in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,158,000. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC raised its position in Hess by 67.1% during the 4th quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 744,536 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $99,031,000 after purchasing an additional 299,041 shares in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HES has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group cut their target price on Hess from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. StockNews.com began coverage on Hess in a research report on Saturday. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Pickering Energy Partners raised shares of Hess to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $166.26.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total value of $27,877,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,384,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $379,879,364.70. This represents a 6.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 9.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hess Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HES traded up $3.19 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $129.51. The stock had a trading volume of 146,171 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,884,458. 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 fifty-two week low of $123.79 and a fifty-two week high of $163.98. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $144.77 and a 200-day moving average of $142.21. The firm has a market cap of $39.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.39 and a beta of 0.88.

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. Equities research analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Hess's payout ratio is 22.22%.

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.