Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 66.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,800 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 61,800 shares during the period. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc.'s holdings in Hess were worth $4,183,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HES. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Hess by 34.5% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,835,486 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $418,291,000 after purchasing an additional 726,631 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in Hess by 76.4% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,532,132 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $227,273,000 after purchasing an additional 663,338 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of Hess by 64.3% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,449,969 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $218,220,000 after acquiring an additional 567,550 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of Hess by 45.6% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,794,087 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $264,664,000 after acquiring an additional 561,832 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sculptor Capital LP raised its stake in shares of Hess by 188.7% in the second quarter. Sculptor Capital LP now owns 765,542 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $112,933,000 after acquiring an additional 500,342 shares in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hess Stock Performance

Shares of HES stock traded down $0.32 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $134.27. 1,579,757 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,129,227. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $135.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $144.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.61 and a beta of 1.15. Hess Co. has a 12-month low of $123.79 and a 12-month high of $163.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.27.

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $3.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.24 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 27.43% and a net margin of 21.22%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 40.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.65 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 10.22 EPS for the current year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change from Hess's previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. Hess's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on HES shares. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com started coverage on Hess in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Hess from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $164.00.

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.