Diametric Capital LP Has $1.02 Million Stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Diametric Capital LP decreased its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 60.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,628 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 11,754 shares during the quarter. Diametric Capital LP's holdings in Hess were worth $1,015,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Trans Canada Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Hess in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $891,000. Colrain Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hess during the fourth quarter worth about $11,459,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Hess by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,844,257 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $511,325,000 after acquiring an additional 91,131 shares during the period. Partners in Financial Planning acquired a new position in Hess in the fourth quarter valued at $598,000. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Hess by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 19,432 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $2,585,000 after acquiring an additional 2,455 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company's stock.

Hess Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HES traded down $14.49 on Friday, hitting $133.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,471,903 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,877,171. Hess Co. has a 12 month low of $123.79 and a 12 month high of $163.98. 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 company has a market capitalization of $41.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.88 and a beta of 0.88. The stock's 50-day moving average is $148.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $142.62.

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Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. Hess's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

Insider Activity at Hess

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,384,679 shares of the company's stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 9.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.