Laurion Capital Management LP Decreases Stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Laurion Capital Management LP trimmed its holdings in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 14.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,493,374 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 246,136 shares during the period. Hess comprises 3.6% of Laurion Capital Management LP's holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Laurion Capital Management LP owned approximately 0.48% of Hess worth $198,634,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of HES. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Hess in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,117,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hess during the 4th quarter valued at $2,274,000. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in Hess by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 59,927 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $7,971,000 after buying an additional 3,625 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Hess by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,838,079 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $244,483,000 after purchasing an additional 82,703 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Hess by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 43,085 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $5,731,000 after buying an additional 1,861 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on HES. Pickering Energy Partners raised shares of Hess to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group dropped their price objective 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 started coverage on Hess in a report on Saturday. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $166.26.

Insider Activity at Hess

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the business's 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,384,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $379,879,364.70. The trade was a 6.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 9.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hess Stock Up 3.4 %

Shares of Hess stock traded up $4.35 on Tuesday, hitting $130.67. The company had a trading volume of 290,627 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,885,123. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.52 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $144.77 and a 200-day moving average of $142.21. 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 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.12.

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Hess's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

About Hess

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.