Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Shares Purchased by Avantax Advisory Services Inc.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,971 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Hess were worth $528,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 19.1% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 16,369 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,224,000 after purchasing an additional 2,630 shares during the last quarter. Commerce Bank raised its holdings in shares of Hess by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 16,044 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,179,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its stake in shares of Hess by 18.5% in the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 2,575 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $350,000 after buying an additional 402 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A. increased its stake in Hess by 35.4% during the third quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 3,611 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $490,000 after acquiring an additional 944 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Hess by 2.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,755,376 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $238,380,000 after purchasing an additional 43,061 shares during the period. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HES has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Hess in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Pickering Energy Partners upgraded shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Hess presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.60.

Hess Stock Performance

Shares of Hess stock opened at $156.59 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $146.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $140.83. Hess Co. has a 52 week low of $123.79 and a 52 week high of $163.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.40 and a beta of 1.21.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. Research analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

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

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.