Insider Selling: Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) CEO Sells $29,965,500.00 in Stock

Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) CEO John B. Hess sold 225,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.18, for a total transaction of $29,965,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,984,679 shares in the company, valued at $264,319,549.22. The trade was a 10.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Hess Price Performance

HES opened at $135.98 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $132.54 and a 200-day moving average of $140.32. The company has a market capitalization of $42.06 billion, a P/E 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 quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.12.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.14). Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. The business had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.16 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Hess in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new stake in shares of Hess in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hess in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Hess by 106.2% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Analysts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hess by 367.4% during the first quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 201 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the period. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Hess from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Hess from $151.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Hess to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Hess from $193.00 to $191.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hess currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $162.16.

Hess Company 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.