Intech Investment Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Intech Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 26.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,465 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 6,027 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $2,236,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of HES. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Hess by 34.5% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,835,486 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $418,291,000 after acquiring an additional 726,631 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in shares of Hess by 76.4% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,532,132 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $227,273,000 after purchasing an additional 663,338 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in Hess by 64.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,449,969 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $218,220,000 after buying an additional 567,550 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in Hess by 45.6% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,794,087 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $264,664,000 after buying an additional 561,832 shares during the period. Finally, Sculptor Capital LP lifted its stake in Hess by 188.7% in the second quarter. Sculptor Capital LP now owns 765,542 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $112,933,000 after buying an additional 500,342 shares during the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HES. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Hess in a research report on Monday, November 18th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Hess from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $163.30.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hess

In other Hess news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total value of $851,460.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 27,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,914,019.71. This represents a 17.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 92,894 shares of Hess stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.80, for a total value of $13,729,733.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 229,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,914,927. This trade represents a 28.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 314,370 shares of company stock valued at $45,856,309. Corporate insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Hess Stock Up 0.5 %

HES opened at $148.65 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Hess Co. has a 12 month low of $123.79 and a 12 month high of $163.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.33 and a beta of 1.15. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $138.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $142.48.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.26. Hess had a return on equity of 27.41% and a net margin of 20.58%. The company had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.64 earnings per share. Hess’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 9.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.31%.

Hess Company 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.