Hartford Investment Management Co. Sells 369 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Hartford Investment Management Co. trimmed its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,328 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 369 shares during the quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Hess were worth $2,353,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HES. Greenleaf Trust increased its position in shares of Hess by 18.4% in the third quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,739 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $508,000 after acquiring an additional 580 shares during the period. GAM Holding AG bought a new stake in shares of Hess in the third quarter worth about $408,000. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in Hess by 21.5% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 15,126 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,054,000 after purchasing an additional 2,673 shares during the period. Pictet North America Advisors SA bought a new position in Hess during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $10,854,000. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Hess in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $48,000. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on HES. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Friday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Hess from $171.00 to $151.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a report on Friday, September 13th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $164.00.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HES opened at $138.50 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $135.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $144.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company has a market capitalization of $42.67 billion, a PE ratio of 21.21 and a beta of 1.15. Hess Co. has a 1-year low of $123.79 and a 1-year high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released 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 business had revenue of $3.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.24 billion. Hess had a net margin of 21.22% and a return on equity of 27.43%. Hess’s revenue was up 40.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.65 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 10.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This is a boost from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is 30.63%.

About Hess

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.