Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Buys 785,270 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 31.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,318,822 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 785,270 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Hess were worth $450,696,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Hess in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Hess by 59.8% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hess by 47.6% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 273 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Hess in the third quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Hess in the third quarter worth about $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Hess

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.47, for a total transaction of $12,890,115.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 223,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,791,753.09. This represents a 28.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction of $851,460.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 27,581 shares in the company, valued at $3,914,019.71. This represents a 17.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hess Stock Performance

Shares of HES opened at $148.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $138.39 and a 200-day moving average of $142.77. The company has a market cap of $45.62 billion, a PE ratio of 17.26 and a beta of 1.15. Hess Co. has a one year low of $123.79 and a one year high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.96 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 27.41% and a net margin of 20.58%. The business’s revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.64 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 9.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This is a positive change from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Hess from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Hess from $171.00 to $151.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a research report on Friday, September 13th. StockNews.com started coverage on Hess in a report on Monday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $163.30.

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.