Natixis Acquires 4,276 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Natixis lifted its holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 131,582 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 4,276 shares during the quarter. Natixis' holdings in Hess were worth $17,502,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of HES. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hess by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,141,244 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $4,408,117,000 after purchasing an additional 296,406 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Hess by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,695,533 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $888,240,000 after purchasing an additional 158,371 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Hess by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,844,257 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $511,325,000 after purchasing an additional 91,131 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,498,458 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $465,330,000 after purchasing an additional 179,636 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Hess by 46.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,930,509 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $389,787,000 after purchasing an additional 927,093 shares in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on HES. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Hess in a research note on Saturday. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $136.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded shares of Hess to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on Hess from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Hess currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $164.46.

Insider Transactions at Hess

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of Hess stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of 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 SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 9.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of HES traded down $0.23 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $130.15. 1,352,820 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,885,457. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $144.46 and a 200-day moving average of $142.13. 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 firm has a market cap of $40.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.46 and a beta of 0.88. 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 quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Hess's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

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.