Sculptor Capital LP Has $112.93 Million Stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Sculptor Capital LP lifted its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 188.7% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 765,542 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 500,342 shares during the quarter. Hess comprises approximately 2.1% of Sculptor Capital LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Sculptor Capital LP’s holdings in Hess were worth $112,933,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Hess by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,126,526 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,903,793,000 after buying an additional 294,146 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA raised its holdings in shares of Hess by 4.4% during the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 8,098,012 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,194,619,000 after purchasing an additional 340,490 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Hess by 34.5% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,835,486 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $418,291,000 after purchasing an additional 726,631 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Hess by 6.6% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,451,807 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $361,691,000 after purchasing an additional 150,945 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Hess by 11.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,798,788 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $265,359,000 after purchasing an additional 181,459 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:HES opened at $130.67 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $136.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $146.69. Hess Co. has a 52-week low of $123.79 and a 52-week high of $167.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The company has a market capitalization of $40.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.01 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. 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.65 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 40.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 10.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This is a boost from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Hess’s payout ratio is 30.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on HES shares. Mizuho lowered their price target on Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com began coverage on Hess in a report on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Hess from $165.00 to $157.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Hess from $151.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $171.31.

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.