Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Shares Bought by ING Groep NV

ING Groep NV raised its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 22.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 652,900 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after acquiring an additional 119,636 shares during the period. Hess makes up 0.6% of ING Groep NV's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. ING Groep NV owned 0.21% of Hess worth $86,842,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Hess in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Groupama Asset Managment raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 4,186 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Hess by 59.8% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Hess during the third quarter worth $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company's stock.

Hess Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:HES traded up $1.10 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $149.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 791,405 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,912,240. The firm has a market cap of $45.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.60 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $141.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $139.23. Hess Co. has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $163.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. Research analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The company 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%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hess in a research note on Saturday. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Hess from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Pickering Energy Partners raised Hess to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned 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.

Hess 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.