Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Shares Acquired by SVB Wealth LLC

SVB Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 38.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 4,165 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,151 shares during the quarter. SVB Wealth LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $601,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Trust N.A. purchased a new position in shares of Hess during the first quarter valued at approximately $446,000. Blair William & Co. IL grew its holdings in Hess by 17.1% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 4,276 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $458,000 after buying an additional 625 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in shares of Hess by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 114,120 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $12,216,000 after acquiring an additional 4,027 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new stake in shares of Hess in the first quarter worth approximately $410,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Hess by 2.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,928,530 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $3,310,590,000 after purchasing an additional 667,979 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Stock Performance

Hess stock opened at $154.35 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.05. Hess Co. has a one year low of $124.27 and a one year high of $167.75. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $149.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $146.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.56 billion, a PE ratio of 34.30 and a beta of 1.27.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced 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. Hess had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 17.00%. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.78 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 8.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 18th were paid a $0.4375 dividend. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 15th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.89%.

Insider Activity at Hess

In other Hess news, COO Gregory P. Hill sold 56,925 shares of Hess stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.35, for a total transaction of $8,330,973.75. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 78,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,457,302.45. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, COO Gregory P. Hill sold 56,925 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.35, for a total value of $8,330,973.75. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 78,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,457,302.45. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 13,921 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.08, for a total transaction of $2,103,184.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 33,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,073,417.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 155,798 shares of company stock valued at $22,811,166. Insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on HES. Susquehanna increased their price target 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. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Hess in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “sell” rating for the company. Mizuho raised their price objective on Hess from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Hess from $172.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $176.75.

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.