Insider Selling: Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) CEO Sells 90,476 Shares of Stock

Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.47, for a total value of $12,890,115.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 223,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,791,753.09. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Hess Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:HES opened at $142.18 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The company has a market capitalization of $43.81 billion, a PE ratio of 16.57 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $135.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $143.67.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.26. Hess had a net margin of 20.58% and a return on equity of 27.41%. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.64 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 9.76 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. This is an increase from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Hess from $171.00 to $151.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 5th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Hess from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Hess in a research note on Saturday, November 2nd. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Hess currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $163.30.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hess

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake 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 grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 340,490 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $418,291,000 after acquiring an additional 726,631 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Hess by 6.6% in the 2nd 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 boosted its stake in Hess by 11.2% in 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 in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.