HighTower Advisors LLC Trims Stock Position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

HighTower Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 10.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,173 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 2,777 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $3,138,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HES. Drive Wealth Management LLC raised its position in 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 buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Hess by 2.4% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position 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 valued at $261,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Hess by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,629 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,158,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Hess by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 2,130 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $314,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Stock Performance

Shares of HES stock opened at $141.07 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $141.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $141.56. The stock has a market cap of $43.47 billion, a PE ratio of 16.35 and a beta of 1.17. Hess Co. has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $163.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.96 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 27.41% and a net margin of 20.58%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.64 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 9.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Hess’s payout ratio is 23.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on HES shares. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Hess from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Five 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 company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.50.

Insider Transactions at Hess

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.47, for a total transaction of $12,890,115.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 223,147 shares in the company, valued at $31,791,753.09. This represents a 28.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $3,914,019.71. The trade was a 17.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 314,370 shares of company stock valued at $45,856,309 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

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.