Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. Sells 1,299 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 10.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,326 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 1,299 shares during the quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc.’s holdings in Hess were worth $1,499,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its stake in shares of Hess by 36.8% during the first quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 279 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hess by 24.0% in the first quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 403 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Ossiam grew its stake in shares of Hess by 1.0% in the first quarter. Ossiam now owns 8,093 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,071,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hess by 5.0% in the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,667 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $221,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hess by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 12,726 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,805,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. 81.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hess Stock Down 0.5 %

HES opened at $160.45 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $149.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $140.16. Hess Co. has a 52 week low of $100.34 and a 52 week high of $162.86. The company has a market capitalization of $49.27 billion, a PE ratio of 30.74 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.08. Hess had a net margin of 14.60% and a return on equity of 19.56%. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.15 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 22.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 29th. Investors of record on Monday, September 18th will be given a $0.4375 dividend. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 15th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Gregory P. Hill sold 33,414 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.33, for a total value of $5,056,540.62. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 82,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,550,099.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Barbara J. Lowery-Yilmaz sold 24,319 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.91, for a total transaction of $3,815,894.29. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 113,670 shares in the company, valued at $17,835,959.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Gregory P. Hill sold 33,414 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.33, for a total transaction of $5,056,540.62. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 82,932 shares in the company, valued at $12,550,099.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.93% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on HES. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Hess from $168.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Hess from $168.00 to $164.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 13th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Hess from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Hess from $154.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Hess from $155.00 to $153.00 in a research report on Monday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.94.

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.