Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Has $3.12 Million Position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its holdings in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 21,626 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 405 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Hess were worth $3,118,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Hess by 581.9% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,342,311 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $358,374,000 after purchasing an additional 1,998,824 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Hess by 44.1% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,610,484 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $552,404,000 after acquiring an additional 1,105,204 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Hess by 2.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 37,239,078 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $5,697,579,000 after purchasing an additional 889,122 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its holdings in Hess by 703.2% in the third quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,007,485 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $154,146,000 after purchasing an additional 882,045 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of Hess by 19.9% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,951,451 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $451,572,000 after purchasing an additional 489,169 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 73,885 shares of the company’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 value of $10,777,604.95. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 138,718 shares in the company, valued at $20,234,794.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 73,885 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.87, for a total value of $10,777,604.95. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 138,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,234,794.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Timothy B. Goodell sold 2,701 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.52, for a total transaction of $390,348.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 162,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,433,050.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 155,798 shares of company stock valued at $22,811,166. 9.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hess Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE HES traded down $0.91 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $158.49. The company had a trading volume of 2,453,789 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,642,259. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $152.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $147.02. The company has a market capitalization of $48.83 billion, a PE ratio of 24.41 and a beta of 1.24. Hess Co. has a one year low of $124.27 and a one year high of $167.75.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas producer reported $3.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $2.98 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.13 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 36.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 9.17 EPS for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

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

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.