Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) CEO Sells $34,002,500.00 in Stock

Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) CEO John B. Hess sold 250,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total value of $34,002,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,734,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,933,690.79. This trade represents a 12.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Hess Stock Performance

HES opened at $135.98 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $132.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $140.32. The company has a market capitalization of $42.06 billion, a PE ratio of 15.11 and a beta of 0.62. Hess Co. has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $161.69. 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 (NYSE:HES) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. The business’s revenue was down 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.16 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. Hess’s payout ratio is 27.66%.

Institutional Trading of Hess

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Hess during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich acquired a new stake in shares of Hess in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Hess during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Hess by 106.2% during the first quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 200 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Analysts LLC grew its stake in Hess by 367.4% during the first quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 201 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on HES shares. Susquehanna reduced their target price on Hess from $160.00 to $136.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised Hess to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday. Mizuho dropped their target price on Hess from $193.00 to $191.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Hess from $151.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $162.16.

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.