Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Holdings Raised by Carlson Capital L.P.

Carlson Capital L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 194.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,400 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 19,400 shares during the quarter. Hess makes up 2.3% of Carlson Capital L.P.'s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Carlson Capital L.P.'s holdings in Hess were worth $3,910,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of HES. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Hess by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 2,154 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $287,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Hess by 2.4% in the third quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,266 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $444,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Hess by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,682 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hess by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,809 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $241,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hess by 6.6% in the third quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,577 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $214,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Hess Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE HES traded up $2.13 during trading on Friday, reaching $149.04. The stock had a trading volume of 2,402,219 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,939,621. Hess Co. has a fifty-two week low of $123.79 and a fifty-two week 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. The business's 50-day moving average price is $142.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $139.65. The company has a market cap of $45.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.56 and a beta of 1.17.

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 research analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Hess's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.