LPL Financial LLC Raises Stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 12.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,212 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 3,309 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $4,107,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Hess by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 15,749 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,124,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. raised its stake in Hess by 22.7% in the 1st quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 9,751 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,291,000 after purchasing an additional 1,801 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its stake in Hess by 314.8% in the 1st quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 366,989 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $48,567,000 after purchasing an additional 278,511 shares during the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Hess in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,323,000. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital raised its stake in Hess by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,633 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $491,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.72% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Hess

In related news, SVP Barbara J. Lowery-Yilmaz sold 24,319 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.91, for a total transaction of $3,815,894.29. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 113,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,835,959.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 9.93% of the company’s stock.

Hess Stock Performance

Hess stock opened at $146.26 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $44.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.18 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $154.86 and a 200-day moving average of $145.21. Hess Co. has a 52 week low of $113.82 and a 52 week high of $167.75.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 25th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $2.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.68 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 18.06% and a net margin of 14.94%. The business’s revenue was down 27.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.89 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 4.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 29th. Investors of record on Monday, September 18th were given a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 15th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on HES shares. Susquehanna reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $160.00 target price (down previously from $197.00) on shares of Hess in a research note on Thursday, October 26th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Hess from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 17th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Hess from $155.00 to $153.00 in a research note on Monday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $171.00 price objective (up previously from $170.00) on shares of Hess in a research note on Tuesday, October 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Hess from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $189.00 to $166.00 in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $173.19.

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.