Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Shares Sold by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 19.9% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 94,024 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 23,360 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Hess were worth $13,870,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of HES. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new position in Hess during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hess in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hess in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in Hess during the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Hess by 47.6% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 273 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of Hess from $151.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Hess to an “overweight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $175.00 to $160.00 in a report on Monday, August 19th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Hess from $193.00 to $192.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Hess from $165.00 to $157.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Hess from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $166.00 to $172.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $174.00.

Hess Stock Performance

NYSE HES opened at $128.57 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $139.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $147.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Hess Co. has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $167.75. The company has a market capitalization of $39.61 billion, a PE ratio of 19.69 and a beta of 1.15.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $3.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.24 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 27.43% and a net margin of 21.22%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 40.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 11.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.63%.

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.