Sentry Investment Management LLC Has $207,000 Stock Holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Sentry Investment Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,434 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 154 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $207,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Hess by 85.3% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 25,195 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $3,632,000 after buying an additional 11,599 shares during the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hess during the fourth quarter worth approximately $967,000. Capital Advisors Inc. OK increased its stake in shares of Hess by 60.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 2,540 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $366,000 after purchasing an additional 956 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Hess during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,407,000. Finally, Simplicity Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Hess by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 12,468 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,797,000 after purchasing an additional 956 shares during the period. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hess Price Performance

Hess stock opened at $150.26 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $149.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $146.73. Hess Co. has a one year low of $124.27 and a one year high of $167.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market cap of $46.30 billion, a PE ratio of 33.39 and a beta of 1.27.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.20. Hess had a return on equity of 17.00% and a net margin of 12.98%. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.78 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 7.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 18th were paid a $0.4375 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 15th. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.16%. Hess’s payout ratio is 38.89%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Gregory P. Hill sold 56,925 shares of Hess stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.35, for a total value of $8,330,973.75. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 78,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,457,302.45. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, SVP Andrew P. Slentz sold 1,062 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.52, for a total transaction of $153,480.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 50,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,257,071.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Gregory P. Hill sold 56,925 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.35, for a total value of $8,330,973.75. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 78,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,457,302.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 155,798 shares of company stock worth $22,811,166. Insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HES has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho increased their target price on Hess from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Hess in a research note on Wednesday. They set a “sell” rating on the stock. Susquehanna increased their target price on Hess from $152.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on Hess from $169.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hess has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $176.67.

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.