Van ECK Associates Corp Sells 58,924 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Van ECK Associates Corp lessened its holdings in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 73.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,239 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 58,924 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp's holdings in Hess were worth $2,932,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of HES. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Hess by 940.9% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 17,446 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $2,663,000 after purchasing an additional 15,770 shares during the last quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Hess during the 1st quarter worth $458,000. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hess by 7.3% in the first quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,243 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $495,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 134.9% during the first quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 4,440 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $678,000 after purchasing an additional 2,550 shares during the period. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its stake in shares of Hess by 21.0% during the first quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 11,858 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,810,000 after purchasing an additional 2,060 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hess

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.47, for a total value of $12,890,115.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 223,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,791,753.09. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 9.76% of the company's stock.

Hess Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Hess stock traded down $0.57 during trading on Friday, hitting $142.18. The stock had a trading volume of 1,347,859 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,522,399. Hess Co. has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $163.98. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $135.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $143.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The company has a market capitalization of $43.81 billion, a PE ratio of 16.57 and a beta of 1.15.

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations of $2.96 billion. Hess had a net margin of 20.58% and a return on equity of 27.41%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.64 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 9.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This is a positive change from Hess's previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. Hess's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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. Mizuho decreased their price target on Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Wolfe Research raised Hess from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Hess currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $163.30.

Hess Company 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.