R Squared Ltd Invests $329,000 in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 2,470 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $329,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of HES. HBK Investments L P boosted its position in Hess by 16.7% during the third quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 7,117,820 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $966,600,000 after buying an additional 1,017,720 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Hess by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,537,162 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $884,709,000 after acquiring an additional 74,085 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Hess by 58.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,753,126 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $509,675,000 after acquiring an additional 1,391,311 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Hess by 31.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,318,822 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $450,696,000 after purchasing an additional 785,270 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Hess by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,755,376 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $238,380,000 after purchasing an additional 43,061 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hess

In other news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total value of $851,460.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 27,581 shares in the company, valued at $3,914,019.71. This represents a 17.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 92,894 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.80, for a total transaction of $13,729,733.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 229,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at $33,914,927. This trade represents a 28.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 314,370 shares of company stock worth $45,856,309. Company insiders own 9.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HES has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Hess from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group raised their target price on Hess from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on Hess in a research report on Wednesday. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $170.50.

Hess Stock Down 4.9 %

Hess stock traded down $7.14 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $138.71. The stock had a trading volume of 3,252,533 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,847,593. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $140.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $139.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.41 and a beta of 1.18. 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.

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a return on equity of 26.85% and a net margin of 21.27%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 7.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Hess's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.22%.

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.