Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $43.01 Million Stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 323,371 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 3,550 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Hess worth $43,012,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in HES. HBK Investments L P grew its stake in shares of Hess by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 7,117,820 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $966,600,000 after purchasing an additional 1,017,720 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Hess by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,537,162 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $884,709,000 after buying an additional 74,085 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Hess by 58.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,753,126 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $509,675,000 after acquiring an additional 1,391,311 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Hess by 31.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,318,822 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $450,696,000 after acquiring an additional 785,270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hess by 2.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,755,376 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $238,380,000 after acquiring an additional 43,061 shares during the period. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hess Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE HES traded down $3.00 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $147.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,737,905 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,947,462. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market cap of $45.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.44 and a beta of 1.17. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $140.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $139.01. Hess Co. has a one year low of $123.79 and a one year high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 EPS 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Hess's payout ratio is 22.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on HES shares. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Friday, February 14th. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised Hess from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup raised their price target on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Pickering Energy Partners upgraded Hess to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hess presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $170.60.

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.