Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Shares Sold by Sei Investments Co.

Sei Investments Co. lessened its holdings in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 44.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,843 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 26,694 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co.'s holdings in Hess were worth $4,369,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Hess during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Hess during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Groupama Asset Managment grew its holdings in 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 stake in shares of Hess in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hess in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Remove Ads

Insider Activity at Hess

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was 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 owns 2,384,679 shares of the company's stock, valued at $379,879,364.70. The trade was 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.

Hess Stock Performance

Hess stock traded down $14.49 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $133.89. 3,995,195 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,873,512. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $148.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $142.62. Hess Co. has a fifty-two week low of $123.79 and a fifty-two week high of $163.98. The firm has a market cap of $41.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.88 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 forecast that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

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