Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Holdings Lifted by Wells Fargo & Company MN

Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 189,148 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 8,053 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned 0.06% of Hess worth $25,159,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HES. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Hess by 26.2% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 39,361 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $5,346,000 after acquiring an additional 8,174 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hess by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 8,098 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,100,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Hess during the 3rd quarter worth about $454,000. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its holdings in Hess by 43.0% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 191,453 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $25,999,000 after buying an additional 57,546 shares during the period. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its stake in Hess by 1,584.8% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 7,413 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,007,000 after purchasing an additional 6,973 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on HES shares. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Friday, April 11th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Pickering Energy Partners raised Hess to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Hess from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hess presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $166.26.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 value of $27,877,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,384,679 shares of the company's stock, valued at $379,879,364.70. This represents a 6.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 9.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HES traded up $4.21 on Thursday, hitting $132.16. The company had a trading volume of 329,040 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,886,065. The company has a market cap of $40.74 billion, a PE ratio of 14.70 and a beta of 0.88. The business has a 50 day moving average of $145.77 and a 200 day moving average of $142.38. Hess Co. has a 52-week low of $123.79 and a 52-week high of $163.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Hess's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.