Vazirani Asset Management LLC Reduces Stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Vazirani Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 66.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,000 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 10,000 shares during the period. Hess accounts for 2.1% of Vazirani Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Vazirani Asset Management LLC's holdings in Hess were worth $665,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Hess in the 3rd quarter valued at about $232,000. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hess by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 19,830 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $2,693,000 after purchasing an additional 757 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Hess by 20.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,213,574 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $169,767,000 after acquiring an additional 208,996 shares in the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new position in Hess in the third quarter worth about $23,765,000. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its position in Hess by 330.3% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 262,316 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $35,623,000 after acquiring an additional 201,349 shares during the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded Hess to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Scotiabank dropped their target price on Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Hess from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $136.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Hess in a research note on Sunday. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $164.46.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total value of $27,877,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,384,679 shares of the company's stock, valued at $379,879,364.70. The trade was a 6.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 9.10% of the company's stock.

Hess Trading Up 0.0 %

Hess stock opened at $132.43 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.71 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Hess Co. has a 52-week low of $123.79 and a 52-week high of $163.98. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $143.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $142.00.

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

Hess Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. Hess's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

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.

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