Lake Street Advisors Group LLC Purchases Shares of 1,754 Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Lake Street Advisors Group LLC purchased a new stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,754 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $233,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Hess by 2.4% during the third quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,266 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $444,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Hess by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,682 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Hess by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,809 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $241,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hess by 6.6% in the third quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,577 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $214,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Hess by 59.8% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Hess Stock Down 3.4 %

Hess stock traded down $5.11 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $143.83. The stock had a trading volume of 2,527,748 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,954,323. The company has a market cap of $44.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.98 and a beta of 1.17. The business's 50 day moving average price is $142.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $139.75. Hess Co. has a 52 week low of $123.79 and a 52 week high of $163.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

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

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Hess's payout ratio is 22.22%.

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.