Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC Raises Stock Position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 76.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,188 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after acquiring an additional 3,541 shares during the quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC's holdings in Hess were worth $1,089,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. HBK Investments L P raised its holdings in shares of Hess by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 7,117,820 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $966,600,000 after purchasing an additional 1,017,720 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Hess by 1.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,537,162 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $884,709,000 after purchasing an additional 74,085 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Hess by 58.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,753,126 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $509,675,000 after purchasing an additional 1,391,311 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Hess by 31.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,318,822 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $450,696,000 after buying an additional 785,270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Hess by 46.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,930,509 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $389,787,000 after buying an additional 927,093 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company's stock.

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Hess Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of HES stock traded up $0.31 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $144.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 645,929 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,973,642. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.11 and a beta of 1.21. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $144.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $140.07. Hess Co. has a one year low of $123.79 and a one year high of $163.98.

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

Hess Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Hess's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.