Franklin Resources Inc. Cuts Holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Franklin Resources Inc. lowered its stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 8.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,115,208 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 98,366 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.36% of Hess worth $148,334,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in Hess during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hess in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Groupama Asset Managment raised its holdings in shares of Hess by 22.7% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 22,606 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 4,186 shares in the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Hess during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Hess during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company's stock.

Hess Trading Down 9.8 %

Hess stock traded down $14.49 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $133.89. 3,995,195 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,873,512. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.88 and a beta of 0.88. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $148.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $142.66. Hess Co. has a fifty-two week low of $123.79 and a fifty-two week high of $163.98.

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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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. Hess's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Transactions at Hess

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the business'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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,384,679 shares in the company, valued at $379,879,364.70. This represents a 6.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 9.76% of the company's stock.

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.