GSA Capital Partners LLP Buys New Stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 3,651 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $496,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its position in Hess by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 8,098,012 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,194,619,000 after purchasing an additional 340,490 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Hess by 34.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,835,486 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $418,291,000 after purchasing an additional 726,631 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Hess by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,451,807 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $361,691,000 after purchasing an additional 150,945 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Hess by 11.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,798,788 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $265,359,000 after purchasing an additional 181,459 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Hess by 45.6% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,794,087 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $264,664,000 after purchasing an additional 561,832 shares during the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Hess

In related news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total value of $851,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 27,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,914,019.71. The trade was a 17.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.47, for a total transaction of $12,890,115.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 223,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,791,753.09. The trade was a 28.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hess Stock Performance

NYSE:HES opened at $146.16 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $137.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $142.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market cap of $45.03 billion, a PE ratio of 17.03 and a beta of 1.15. Hess Co. has a 1-year low of $123.79 and a 1-year high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. Hess had a net margin of 20.58% and a return on equity of 27.41%. The company’s revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.64 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 9.72 EPS for the current year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This is a positive change from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Hess’s payout ratio is currently 23.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Hess from $171.00 to $151.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 27th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a report on Friday, September 13th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group lowered their target price 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. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $163.30.

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.