Trexquant Investment LP Has $22.64 Million Position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Trexquant Investment LP lifted its holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 39.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 170,226 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after buying an additional 48,562 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP owned about 0.06% of Hess worth $22,642,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hess by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,141,244 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $4,408,117,000 after purchasing an additional 296,406 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Hess by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,695,533 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $888,240,000 after acquiring an additional 158,371 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Hess by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,844,257 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $511,325,000 after acquiring an additional 91,131 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Hess by 46.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,930,509 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $389,787,000 after purchasing an additional 927,093 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Hess by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,838,079 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $244,483,000 after purchasing an additional 82,703 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company's stock.

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Hess Stock Down 9.8 %

NYSE:HES traded down $14.49 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $133.89. 3,985,099 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,055,981. The stock has a market cap of $41.28 billion, a PE ratio of 14.88 and a beta of 0.88. Hess Co. has a twelve month low of $123.79 and a twelve month high of $163.98. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $148.58 and a 200 day moving average of $142.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. On average, equities analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Hess's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 9.76% of the company's stock.

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.