Insider Selling: Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) CEO Sells $18,385,000.00 in Stock

Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) CEO John B. Hess sold 125,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.08, for a total transaction of $18,385,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 217,894 shares in the company, valued at $32,047,849.52. This trade represents a 36.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Hess Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of HES stock opened at $148.65 on Monday. Hess Co. has a 1-year low of $123.79 and a 1-year high of $163.98. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $138.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $142.48. The firm has a market cap of $45.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.33 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

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

Hess Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This is an increase from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Hess’s payout ratio is 23.31%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hess

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Hess by 58.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,753,126 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $509,675,000 after acquiring an additional 1,391,311 shares during the period. HBK Investments L P increased its holdings in Hess by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 7,117,820 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $966,600,000 after purchasing an additional 1,017,720 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Hess by 31.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,318,822 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $450,696,000 after purchasing an additional 785,270 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Hess by 34.5% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,835,486 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $418,291,000 after purchasing an additional 726,631 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in shares of Hess by 76.4% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,532,132 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $227,273,000 after purchasing an additional 663,338 shares in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HES has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup cut their price objective on Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. StockNews.com began coverage on Hess in a research report on Monday, November 18th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Hess from $171.00 to $151.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Hess from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $163.30.

About Hess

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.