GAM Holding AG Takes $408,000 Position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

GAM Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 3,006 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $408,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of HES. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new position in Hess in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Hess in the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Hess during the 3rd quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess in the 2nd quarter worth $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Hess stock opened at $138.05 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $135.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $144.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.14 and a beta of 1.15. Hess Co. has a 12-month low of $123.79 and a 12-month high of $163.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.14. Hess had a return on equity of 27.43% and a net margin of 21.22%. The firm had revenue of $3.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.65 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 40.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 10.22 EPS for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Hess’s payout ratio is 30.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on HES. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Hess from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $166.00 to $172.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hess has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $164.00.

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.