Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Reduces Holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,590 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 78 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Hess were worth $488,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in HES. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 4.4% during the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 8,098,012 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,194,619,000 after acquiring an additional 340,490 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of 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 holdings in shares of Hess by 6.6% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,451,807 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $361,691,000 after buying an additional 150,945 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 181,459 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Hess by 45.6% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,794,087 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $264,664,000 after acquiring an additional 561,832 shares during the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hess Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE:HES opened at $146.16 on Wednesday. Hess Co. has a twelve month low of $123.79 and a twelve month high of $163.98. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $137.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $142.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.03 and a beta of 1.15.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 27.41% and a net margin of 20.58%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.64 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 9.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.50 dividend. 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 dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.31%.

Insider Transactions at Hess

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of Hess stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.47, for a total transaction of $12,890,115.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 223,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,791,753.09. This trade represents a 28.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of Hess stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 17.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on HES. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Monday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Citigroup reduced their target price on Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Wolfe Research upgraded Hess from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Hess from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price target on Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $163.30.

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.