Caprock Group LLC Boosts Stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Caprock Group LLC grew its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 32.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,736 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 1,170 shares during the quarter. Caprock Group LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $699,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HES. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Hess by 214.8% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 12,578 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,853,000 after purchasing an additional 8,583 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its holdings in Hess by 0.7% in the second quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 61,992 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $9,145,000 after buying an additional 421 shares during the last quarter. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP acquired a new stake in Hess in the second quarter valued at $3,389,000. Savant Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Hess by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 3,286 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $485,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. increased its stake in Hess by 18.6% in the second quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 18,425 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,718,000 after purchasing an additional 2,894 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Stock Down 0.1 %

HES opened at $126.35 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $38.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.35 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.27. Hess Co. has a one year low of $123.79 and a one year high of $167.75. The business’s fifty day moving average is $140.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $147.78.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.14. Hess had a net margin of 21.22% and a return on equity of 27.43%. The business had revenue of $3.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.65 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 40.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 11.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. This is an increase from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Hess’s payout ratio is currently 30.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on HES. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Hess to an “overweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $175.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Hess in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Hess from $165.00 to $157.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $174.46.

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.