Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Stake Lowered by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC lowered its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 4.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 96,830 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 3,988 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Hess were worth $13,150,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HES. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new position in Hess in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in Hess by 59.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Hess by 47.6% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 273 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in Hess in the 3rd quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in Hess in the 2nd quarter valued at about $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HES has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a research note on Friday, September 13th. UBS Group cut their target price on Hess from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $163.30.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hess

In other news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction of $851,460.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 27,581 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,914,019.71. This trade represents a 17.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.47, for a total value of $12,890,115.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 223,147 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,791,753.09. This represents a 28.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hess Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE HES traded up $0.58 on Friday, reaching $145.64. The company had a trading volume of 1,937,328 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,105,854. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.87 billion, a PE ratio of 17.02 and a beta of 1.15. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $136.42 and a 200-day moving average of $143.19. Hess Co. has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $163.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. Hess had a net margin of 20.58% and a return on equity of 27.41%. The business's revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.64 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 9.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. This is an increase from Hess's previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Hess's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.31%.

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.