Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Shares Purchased by Outfitter Financial LLC

Outfitter Financial LLC raised its stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,750 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the quarter. Outfitter Financial LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $1,406,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in HES. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in Hess by 6.5% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 12,944 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,981,000 after buying an additional 786 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Hess by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 11,077 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,695,000 after purchasing an additional 899 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Hess by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 22,239 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $3,403,000 after purchasing an additional 730 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. purchased a new position in Hess in the third quarter valued at about $231,000. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hess by 2.5% during the third quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 15,175 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,322,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hess Stock Performance

Hess stock traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $159.81. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 437,184 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,616,051. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Hess Co. has a twelve month low of $124.27 and a twelve month high of $167.75. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $153.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $147.07. The firm has a market cap of $49.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.49 and a beta of 1.24.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas producer reported $3.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $1.43. Hess had a net margin of 17.41% and a return on equity of 22.73%. The business had revenue of $3.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.98 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.13 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 36.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 9.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Hess

In other Hess news, SVP Andrew P. Slentz sold 1,062 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.52, for a total value of $153,480.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 50,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,257,071.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 13,921 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.08, for a total transaction of $2,103,184.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 33,581 shares in the company, valued at $5,073,417.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Andrew P. Slentz sold 1,062 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.52, for a total value of $153,480.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 50,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,257,071.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 155,798 shares of company stock worth $22,811,166 in the last 90 days. 9.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Hess in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. They set a “sell” rating on the stock. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Hess from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Hess from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Hess from $172.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $177.42.

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.