Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Grows Stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,095 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 337 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $7,210,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hess by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 5,102 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $779,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Drive Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hess by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,599 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $678,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hess by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,074 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $158,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Hess by 16.9% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 540 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Hess by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,771 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $261,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Stock Performance

Shares of HES stock opened at $134.27 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $41.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.61 and a beta of 1.15. The company’s 50 day moving average is $135.36 and its 200 day moving average is $144.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Hess Co. has a 52-week low of $123.79 and a 52-week high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $3.26 billion for 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 company posted $0.65 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. This is a positive change from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on HES. StockNews.com began coverage on Hess in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Citigroup decreased their price target on Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Hess from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $166.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hess presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.