Swiss National Bank Lowers Stock Holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Swiss National Bank lowered its stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 864,200 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 24,700 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned 0.28% of Hess worth $124,583,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in HES. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hess in the third quarter worth $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Hess in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Hess in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Hess in the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Fortis Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hess during the 3rd quarter valued at $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on HES shares. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Hess from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Hess from $172.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Friday. They set a “sell” rating for the company. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Hess from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $177.42.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 73,885 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.87, for a total transaction of $10,777,604.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 138,718 shares in the company, valued at $20,234,794.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Hess news, SVP Andrew P. Slentz sold 1,062 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.52, for a total value of $153,480.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 50,215 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,257,071.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 73,885 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.87, for a total transaction of $10,777,604.95. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 138,718 shares in the company, valued at $20,234,794.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 155,798 shares of company stock valued at $22,811,166 in the last ninety days. 9.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hess Trading Up 0.2 %

HES opened at $158.86 on Friday. Hess Co. has a 12 month low of $124.27 and a 12 month high of $167.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $152.23 and a 200 day moving average of $147.33. The firm has a market cap of $48.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.33 and a beta of 1.24.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas producer reported $3.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $1.43. Hess had a return on equity of 22.73% and a net margin of 17.41%. The firm had revenue of $3.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.98 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 36.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 9.17 EPS for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.4375 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 15th. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.80%.

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.