Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Raises Holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 176.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,178 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,669 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in Hess were worth $602,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Hess during the fourth quarter worth about $350,000. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC purchased a new position in Hess in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,703,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Hess in the 4th quarter worth approximately $13,550,000. Arvest Investments Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hess during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,407,000. Finally, Avitas Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Hess by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,136 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,614,000 after purchasing an additional 2,641 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Hess

In other Hess news, EVP Timothy B. Goodell sold 2,701 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.52, for a total transaction of $390,348.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 162,144 shares in the company, valued at $23,433,050.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Hess news, EVP Timothy B. Goodell sold 2,701 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.52, for a total value of $390,348.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 162,144 shares in the company, valued at $23,433,050.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 13,921 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.08, for a total value of $2,103,184.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 33,581 shares in the company, valued at $5,073,417.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 155,798 shares of company stock worth $22,811,166 in the last three months. 9.93% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HES has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com began coverage on Hess in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “sell” rating on the stock. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Hess from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Hess from $169.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Hess from $152.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $176.67.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of HES opened at $153.23 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $149.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $146.90. The stock has a market cap of $47.21 billion, a PE ratio of 34.05 and a beta of 1.27. Hess Co. has a 1-year low of $124.27 and a 1-year high of $167.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.76 billion. Hess had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 17.00%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 7.97 EPS for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 15th. Hess’s payout ratio is 38.89%.

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.