RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires New Holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 4,226 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $562,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hess during the 4th quarter worth about $3,117,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Hess during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,274,000. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Hess by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 59,927 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $7,971,000 after acquiring an additional 3,625 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Hess by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,838,079 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $244,483,000 after purchasing an additional 82,703 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Hess by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 43,085 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $5,731,000 after purchasing an additional 1,861 shares during the period. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on HES shares. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded Hess to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Thursday. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Hess from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $170.60.

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Insider Transactions at Hess

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total transaction of $27,877,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,384,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $379,879,364.70. This represents a 6.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 9.76% of the company's stock.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HES traded down $14.49 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $133.89. 3,995,195 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,877,210. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $148.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $142.62. The company has a market cap of $41.28 billion, a PE ratio of 14.88 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.12. Hess Co. has a 1-year low of $123.79 and a 1-year high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Hess's payout ratio 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.