LPL Financial LLC Acquires 140 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,976 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $4,519,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in HES. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in Hess in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Hess during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hess during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Hess in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC increased its holdings in Hess by 157.2% in the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 355 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total transaction of $27,877,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,384,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $379,879,364.70. The trade was a 6.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on HES. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com began coverage on Hess in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Pickering Energy Partners raised shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hess has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.60.

Hess Stock Performance

NYSE HES opened at $138.11 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $147.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $142.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.58 billion, a PE ratio of 15.35 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Hess Co. has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. Analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Hess’s payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

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.