New York State Teachers Retirement System Has $30.92 Million Holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

New York State Teachers Retirement System decreased its stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 232,486 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 10,256 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.08% of Hess worth $30,923,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Hess in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,274,000. Czech National Bank raised its stake in shares of Hess by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 59,927 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $7,971,000 after purchasing an additional 3,625 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Hess by 20.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,213,574 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $169,767,000 after buying an additional 208,996 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its stake in Hess by 34.1% during the fourth quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 19,235 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $2,558,000 after purchasing an additional 4,891 shares during the period. Finally, Paragon Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Hess in the 4th quarter valued at $1,513,000. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hess

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 92,894 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.80, for a total value of $13,729,733.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 229,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at $33,914,927. This represents a 28.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 9.76% of the company's stock.

Hess Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of HES stock traded up $1.24 on Wednesday, reaching $149.21. 1,610,547 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,965,937. 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 Co. has a one year low of $123.79 and a one year high of $163.98. The stock has a market cap of $45.97 billion, a PE ratio of 16.58 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $140.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $138.85.

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

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. Hess's payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HES has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised Hess from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Pickering Energy Partners raised shares of Hess to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess in a research note on Friday, February 14th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Six equities 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 stock presently 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.