New York State Teachers Retirement System Sells 10,570 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

New York State Teachers Retirement System decreased its holdings in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 4.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 242,742 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 10,570 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.08% of Hess worth $32,964,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HES. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Hess in the first quarter worth about $25,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Hess by 47.6% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 273 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Hess in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in Hess in the 2nd quarter valued at $60,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC grew its position in shares of Hess by 31.1% during the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 451 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company's stock.

Hess Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of HES stock traded up $3.27 on Friday, hitting $137.75. 2,541,950 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,127,563. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.67 and a beta of 1.15. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $135.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $144.17. Hess Co. has a one year low of $123.79 and a one year high of $163.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.96 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 27.41% and a net margin of 20.58%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.64 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 9.74 EPS for the current year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. This is an increase from Hess's previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Hess's payout ratio is presently 23.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Hess from $171.00 to $151.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hess currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.