Short Interest in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Rises By 25.9%

Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,540,000 shares, an increase of 25.9% from the March 15th total of 5,990,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,120,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.6 days. Currently, 2.6% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total transaction of $27,877,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,384,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $379,879,364.70. This trade represents a 6.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 9.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hess

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in Hess in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Hess by 106.2% in the 1st quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 200 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Hess during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in Hess in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hess in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on HES. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. StockNews.com started coverage on Hess in a research note on Saturday. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price target on Hess from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded shares of Hess to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $136.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $164.46.

Hess Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of HES traded down $0.48 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $129.90. The company had a trading volume of 535,970 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,884,529. Hess has a one year low of $123.79 and a one year high of $163.98. The company's fifty day moving average price is $144.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $142.13. The company has a market capitalization of $40.05 billion, a PE ratio of 14.43 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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, equities analysts forecast that Hess will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. Hess's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.