Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Boosts Stock Holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 23.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 70,910 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,542 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Hess were worth $10,222,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sigma Planning Corp purchased a new position in Hess in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $295,000. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hess by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,050 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $728,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Hess by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 25,520 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $3,679,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hess by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,196 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $461,000 after acquiring an additional 403 shares during the period. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hess by 28.0% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 896 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $129,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of HES traded up $0.57 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $156.80. The company had a trading volume of 573,976 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,554,443. The firm has a market cap of $48.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.72 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $150.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $146.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. Hess Co. has a 52-week low of $124.27 and a 52-week high of $167.75.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.76 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 17.00% and a net margin of 12.98%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.78 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 8.32 EPS for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 18th were paid a $0.4375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 15th. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.12%. Hess’s payout ratio is presently 38.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on HES shares. StockNews.com started coverage on Hess in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. They issued a “sell” rating for the company. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Hess from $172.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Hess from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Hess from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.