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

HighTower Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 22,280 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 893 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $2,964,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AGF Management Ltd. raised its position in Hess by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 19,120 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,543,000 after purchasing an additional 2,986 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp grew its holdings in Hess by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 12,816 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,705,000 after acquiring an additional 1,469 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance bought a new stake in Hess in the 4th quarter worth $240,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in Hess by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 36,473 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,851,000 after acquiring an additional 2,595 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in Hess by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 145,841 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $19,398,000 after acquiring an additional 12,634 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HES has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Pickering Energy Partners raised shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Citigroup lifted 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hess presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.60.

Hess Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE HES opened at $156.59 on Friday. Hess Co. has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $163.98. The stock has a market cap of $48.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.40 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $146.73 and a 200 day moving average of $140.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.22%.

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.