Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co Decreases Stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co cut its position in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 20.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,371 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 5,107 shares during the quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co's holdings in Hess were worth $2,577,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Hess by 10.3% during the third 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 in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Hess by 1.1% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 397,926 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $54,038,000 after purchasing an additional 4,287 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Hess during the third quarter valued at about $298,000. Bridgewater Associates LP grew its stake in shares of Hess by 107.2% during the third quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 86,502 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $11,747,000 after buying an additional 44,746 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 37.9% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 2,474 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $336,000 after buying an additional 680 shares during the period. 88.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group increased their target price on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Pickering Energy Partners raised shares of Hess to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of 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. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hess currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $170.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hess

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of Hess stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at $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 through the SEC website. 9.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hess Stock Down 0.9 %

HES traded down $1.52 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $159.78. The stock had a trading volume of 392,738 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,854,130. Hess Co. has a one year low of $123.79 and a one year high of $163.98. The company has a market capitalization of $49.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.76 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock's 50 day moving average is $148.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $142.46.

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 (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, analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Hess's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.22%.

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.