Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Has $2.67 Million Stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES – Get Rating) by 38.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,511 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,789 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $2,672,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of HES. Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in Hess by 280.0% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 228 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Field & Main Bank bought a new stake in Hess during the second quarter worth $26,000. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in Hess during the second quarter worth $34,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in Hess by 170.6% during the second quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 322 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venture Visionary Partners LLC bought a new stake in Hess during the second quarter worth $41,000. 86.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on HES. Wolfe Research upgraded Hess from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $181.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Hess from $134.00 to $123.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 19th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Hess from $164.00 to $156.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 19th. Susquehanna Bancshares upped their price objective on Hess from $144.00 to $166.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 27th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective on Hess from $144.00 to $166.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $150.64.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Gregory P. Hill sold 53,851 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.45, for a total transaction of $7,724,925.95. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 78,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,251,357.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, COO Gregory P. Hill sold 53,851 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.45, for a total transaction of $7,724,925.95. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 78,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,251,357.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Andrew P. Slentz sold 37,419 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.21, for a total value of $5,545,869.99. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 29,327 shares in the company, valued at $4,346,554.67. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 9.93% of the company’s stock.

Hess Stock Performance

NYSE:HES opened at $150.73 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $141.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $124.84. Hess Co. has a twelve month low of $83.56 and a twelve month high of $153.38. The stock has a market cap of $46.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.08 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Hess (NYSE:HES – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 26th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.94 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 25.57% and a net margin of 17.31%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 7.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 19th were given a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 16th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.96%.

Hess Company Profile

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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.