Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Sells 944 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lessened its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 6.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 12,946 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 944 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $1,722,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ acquired a new position in Hess in the 4th quarter worth about $65,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in shares of Hess during the fourth quarter worth about $47,056,000. Vestcor Inc increased its stake in shares of Hess by 30.9% in the fourth quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 139,896 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $18,608,000 after buying an additional 32,995 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in Hess by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,971 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $528,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Hess by 19.8% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 798 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $106,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hess Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE HES opened at $158.48 on Friday. Hess Co. has a one year low of $123.79 and a one year high of $163.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $147.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $141.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.61 and a beta of 1.21.

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

Hess Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Activity

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of Hess stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total value of $27,877,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,384,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $379,879,364.70. The trade was a 6.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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.