Versant Capital Management Inc Purchases 302 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 64.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 774 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 302 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Hess were worth $103,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 2.4% in the third quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,266 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $444,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Hess by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,577 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $214,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Hess by 59.8% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Hess by 6.3% during the third quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,673 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $231,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Hess by 4.3% during the second quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 2,444 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $360,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of HES opened at $136.39 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The business has a fifty day moving average of $139.59 and a 200 day moving average of $139.81. The company has a market cap of $42.02 billion, a PE ratio of 15.90 and a beta of 1.17. Hess Co. has a 52-week low of $123.79 and a 52-week high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.26. Hess had a net margin of 20.58% and a return on equity of 27.41%. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.64 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 9.74 EPS for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. Hess’s payout ratio is 23.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on HES shares. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group raised their price target on Hess from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 125,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.08, for a total transaction of $18,385,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 217,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,047,849.52. This trade represents a 36.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total value of $851,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 27,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,914,019.71. The trade was a 17.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 314,370 shares of company stock valued at $45,856,309. Insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

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.