Van ECK Associates Corp Buys 2,119 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 10.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 23,358 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after buying an additional 2,119 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp's holdings in Hess were worth $3,107,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Hess by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 27,651 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $3,744,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Hess by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $140,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Hess by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 3,867 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $514,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Hess by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 4,088 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $544,000 after purchasing an additional 425 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its holdings in Hess by 34.1% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 19,235 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $2,558,000 after buying an additional 4,891 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company's stock.

Hess Stock Performance

Shares of Hess stock traded up $0.63 on Monday, reaching $148.74. 1,534,800 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,935,669. Hess Co. has a 52 week low of $123.79 and a 52 week high of $163.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The company has a 50 day moving average of $141.28 and a 200 day moving average of $139.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.83 billion, a PE ratio of 16.53 and a beta of 1.17.

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Hess's dividend payout ratio is 22.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HES has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Hess from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded shares of Hess to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Saturday. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hess currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $170.60.

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.