Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Has $5.56 Million Stock Position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lowered its stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 47.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 41,828 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 37,550 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund's holdings in Hess were worth $5,564,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of HES. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,117,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hess during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,274,000. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Hess by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 59,927 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $7,971,000 after purchasing an additional 3,625 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Hess by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 43,085 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $5,731,000 after acquiring an additional 1,861 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hess by 20.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,213,574 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $169,767,000 after acquiring an additional 208,996 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on HES. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of 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 research note on Sunday. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Hess from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded shares of Hess to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hess has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $170.60.

Hess Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE HES traded up $2.13 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $149.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,402,219 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,939,621. 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 50 day simple moving average of $142.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $139.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.56 and a beta of 1.17. Hess Co. has a fifty-two week low of $123.79 and a fifty-two week high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. Equities research analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current 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 given 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 presently 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.