Outfitter Financial LLC Purchases 7,410 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Outfitter Financial LLC raised its holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 76.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 17,055 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after buying an additional 7,410 shares during the quarter. Hess accounts for 1.8% of Outfitter Financial LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Outfitter Financial LLC's holdings in Hess were worth $2,268,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of Hess by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 19,369 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $2,630,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hess by 60.8% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,219 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $180,000 after acquiring an additional 461 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in Hess by 100.2% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 98,429 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $13,367,000 after purchasing an additional 49,267 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Hess in the third quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hess by 21.5% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 15,126 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $2,054,000 after purchasing an additional 2,673 shares in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on HES shares. StockNews.com started coverage on Hess in a research note on Saturday. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Hess from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Pickering Energy Partners raised Hess to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hess has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $170.60.

Hess Stock Performance

Shares of HES traded down $1.73 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $147.02. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,816,568 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,932,362. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $141.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $139.33. Hess Co. has a 52-week low of $123.79 and a 52-week high of $163.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The company has a market cap of $45.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.34 and a beta of 1.17.

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

Hess Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 (DPR) 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.