Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Shares Sold by National Pension Service

National Pension Service trimmed its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 29.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 376,558 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 159,824 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.12% of Hess worth $50,086,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of HES. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC acquired a new position in Hess in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $233,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Hess by 46.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,930,509 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $389,787,000 after purchasing an additional 927,093 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hess by 80.0% in the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 423 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 5.2% during the fourth 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. Finally, Outfitter Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hess by 76.8% during the fourth quarter. Outfitter Financial LLC now owns 17,055 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $2,268,000 after buying an additional 7,410 shares during the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of HES stock traded down $5.11 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $143.83. 2,527,739 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,954,323. Hess Co. has a 1-year low of $123.79 and a 1-year high of $163.98. The firm has a market cap of $44.32 billion, a PE ratio of 15.98 and a beta of 1.17. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $142.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $139.69. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Hess's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.