Bleakley Financial Group LLC Cuts Position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 28.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,747 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 1,501 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $509,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hess by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 5,102 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $779,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hess by 1.6% during the second quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,599 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $678,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Hess by 7.3% in the second quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,074 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $158,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Hess by 16.9% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 540 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hess by 10.3% during the 1st quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 855 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $131,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HES opened at $139.60 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The company has a market capitalization of $43.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.38 and a beta of 1.15. Hess Co. has a twelve month low of $123.79 and a twelve month high of $166.50. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $135.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $145.11.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.65 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 40.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. This is a boost from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Hess from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Hess in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price target on Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.00.

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.