Samson Rock Capital LLP Has $83.95 Million Stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Samson Rock Capital LLP trimmed its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 618,150 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 77,263 shares during the quarter. Hess makes up 85.2% of Samson Rock Capital LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Samson Rock Capital LLP’s holdings in Hess were worth $83,945,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new stake in shares of Hess in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Hess in the first quarter worth $27,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in Hess in the first quarter valued at $36,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Hess by 47.6% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 273 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in Hess in the 1st quarter worth $52,000. 88.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Hess from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $166.00 to $172.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Hess from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Hess from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Hess from $165.00 to $157.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hess presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $165.15.

Hess Price Performance

NYSE HES opened at $137.34 on Wednesday. Hess Co. has a one year low of $123.79 and a one year high of $167.75. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $135.11 and a 200 day moving average of $146.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.27. The company has a market capitalization of $42.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.03 and a beta of 1.15.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.14. Hess had a net margin of 21.22% and a return on equity of 27.43%. The firm had revenue of $3.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 40.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 10.46 EPS for the current year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This is a positive change from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. Hess’s payout ratio is currently 30.63%.

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.