Cerity Partners LLC Buys 1,764 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,862 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,764 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $2,561,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Drive Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Hess by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,599 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $678,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hess by 7.3% in the second quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,074 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $158,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Hess by 16.9% in the second 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 last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Hess by 2.4% during the third quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,266 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $444,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Hess by 4.7% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,771 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $261,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE HES opened at $147.18 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $45.35 billion, a PE ratio of 17.15 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’s 50-day moving average price is $140.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $142.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.64 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 9.74 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This is a positive change from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. Hess’s payout ratio is 23.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HES has been the topic of several recent research reports. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Hess from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Hess in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Hess from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hess currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $163.30.

Insider Transactions at Hess

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 92,894 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.80, for a total value of $13,729,733.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 229,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,914,927. This represents a 28.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction of $851,460.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 27,581 shares in the company, valued at $3,914,019.71. This trade represents a 17.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 314,370 shares of company stock valued at $45,856,309. 9.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.