Independent Advisor Alliance Buys New Shares in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Independent Advisor Alliance purchased a new position in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,808 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $240,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. HBK Investments L P boosted its holdings in Hess by 16.7% in the third quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 7,117,820 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $966,600,000 after acquiring an additional 1,017,720 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hess by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,537,162 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $884,709,000 after purchasing an additional 74,085 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Hess by 58.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,753,126 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $509,675,000 after purchasing an additional 1,391,311 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Hess by 31.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,318,822 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $450,696,000 after buying an additional 785,270 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Hess by 46.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,930,509 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $389,787,000 after buying an additional 927,093 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Stock Up 2.4 %

HES stock opened at $156.51 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $146.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $140.54. The company has a market capitalization of $48.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.39 and a beta of 1.21. Hess Co. has a twelve month low of $123.79 and a twelve month high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on HES shares. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded Hess to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group upped their target price on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Hess in a report on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hess presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.60.

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.