abrdn plc Trims Stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

abrdn plc cut its stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 96,759 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 9,520 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc's holdings in Hess were worth $13,012,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Hess by 34.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,835,486 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $418,291,000 after purchasing an additional 726,631 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 663,338 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in Hess by 64.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,449,969 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $218,220,000 after acquiring an additional 567,550 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in Hess by 45.6% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,794,087 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $264,664,000 after acquiring an additional 561,832 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sculptor Capital LP raised its holdings in shares of Hess by 188.7% in the 2nd 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Saturday. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Hess from $171.00 to $151.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Hess from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the company from $166.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Hess from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $150.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $164.00.

Hess Trading Up 2.4 %

HES traded up $3.27 on Friday, hitting $137.75. 2,542,813 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,127,565. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $123.79 and a 12 month high of $163.98. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $135.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $144.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.44 billion, a PE ratio of 16.05 and a beta of 1.15.

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 20.58% and a return on equity of 27.41%. The business's revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.64 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 9.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This is a boost from Hess's previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Hess's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.31%.

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.