Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Increases Holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 12.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,878 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after buying an additional 3,640 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.'s holdings in Hess were worth $4,601,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new position in shares of Hess during the first quarter worth $25,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in Hess by 59.8% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Hess by 47.6% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 273 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Hess in the third quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Hess during the 3rd quarter valued at about $55,000. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction of $851,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 27,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,914,019.71. This represents a 17.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of Hess stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.47, for a total transaction of $12,890,115.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 223,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,791,753.09. This trade represents a 28.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 314,370 shares of company stock worth $45,856,309. 9.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hess Stock Up 0.7 %

HES stock opened at $146.33 on Wednesday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $139.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $142.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.05 and a beta of 1.15. 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 0.75, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.26. Hess had a net margin of 20.58% and a return on equity of 27.41%. The company had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.96 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.64 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 9.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. This is an increase from Hess's previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Hess's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on HES. Wolfe Research raised shares of Hess from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price objective on Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $163.30.

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.