Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Shares Sold by Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Public Sector Pension Investment Board lessened its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 30.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 48,161 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 20,900 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board's holdings in Hess were worth $6,540,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of HES. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Hess by 59.8% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Hess by 47.6% in the first 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 last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Hess in the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in Hess during the third quarter worth approximately $55,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in Hess during the second quarter worth approximately $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company's stock.

Hess Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of HES traded up $0.42 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $147.18. 891,937 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,625,739. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $140.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $142.14. Hess Co. has a 12-month low of $123.79 and a 12-month high of $163.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market cap of $45.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.15 and a beta of 1.15.

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 the consensus estimate of $2.96 billion. Hess had a net margin of 20.58% and a return on equity of 27.41%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.64 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 9.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. This is an increase from Hess's previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Hess's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hess

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 125,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.08, for a total transaction of $18,385,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 217,894 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,047,849.52. This trade represents a 36.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction of $851,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 27,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,914,019.71. This trade represents a 17.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 314,370 shares of company stock worth $45,856,309 in the last 90 days. 9.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on HES shares. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a report on Friday, September 13th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Hess from $171.00 to $151.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $163.30.

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.