Park Avenue Securities LLC Sells 668 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Park Avenue Securities LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 17.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,120 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 668 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $424,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HES. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new position in Hess during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Hess in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Hess in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Hess by 47.6% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 273 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in shares of Hess in the first quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Trading Up 0.3 %

HES stock opened at $139.79 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $43.07 billion, a PE ratio of 16.25 and a beta of 1.15. Hess Co. has a one year low of $123.79 and a one year high of $167.75. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $134.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $145.82. 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 (NYSE:HES) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $3.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.24 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.65 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 40.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. This is an increase from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Hess’s payout ratio is presently 23.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Hess from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $166.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Hess from $151.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hess has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $165.92.

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.