NEOS Investment Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

NEOS Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 30.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,853 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 3,732 shares during the quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC's holdings in Hess were worth $2,109,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of HES. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 58.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,753,126 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $509,675,000 after buying an additional 1,391,311 shares in the last quarter. HBK Investments L P grew its position in Hess by 16.7% during the third quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 7,117,820 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $966,600,000 after purchasing an additional 1,017,720 shares in the last quarter. 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 valued at $389,787,000 after acquiring an additional 927,093 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in Hess in the third quarter valued at about $75,126,000. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of Hess during the 4th quarter valued at about $47,056,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total transaction of $27,877,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,384,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $379,879,364.70. This trade represents a 6.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 9.76% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. They set a "hold" rating for the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded shares of Hess to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Hess from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $170.60.

Hess Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HES traded down $1.49 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $159.80. 392,738 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,854,154. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market cap of $49.26 billion, a PE ratio of 17.76 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $148.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $142.46. Hess Co. has a 12 month low of $123.79 and a 12 month high of $163.98.

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

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Hess's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.