Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Acquires 1,579 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 56.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,395 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,579 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $634,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HES. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Hess by 581.9% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,342,311 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $358,374,000 after buying an additional 1,998,824 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Hess by 44.1% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,610,484 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $552,404,000 after buying an additional 1,105,204 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Hess by 2.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 37,239,078 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $5,697,579,000 after buying an additional 889,122 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Hess by 703.2% during the third quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,007,485 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $154,146,000 after purchasing an additional 882,045 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in Hess during the second quarter valued at approximately $113,801,000. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Andrew P. Slentz sold 1,062 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.52, for a total value of $153,480.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 50,215 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,257,071.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 73,885 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.87, for a total transaction of $10,777,604.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 138,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,234,794.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Andrew P. Slentz sold 1,062 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.52, for a total transaction of $153,480.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 50,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,257,071.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 155,798 shares of company stock worth $22,811,166 in the last quarter. Insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Hess Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of HES opened at $150.26 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $46.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.39 and a beta of 1.27. 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 Co. has a one year low of $124.27 and a one year high of $167.75. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $149.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $146.73.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.20. Hess had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 17.00%. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.78 EPS. Hess’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 7.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 18th were given a $0.4375 dividend. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 15th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.