Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Stock Holdings Lifted by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 33,878 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,640 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Hess were worth $4,601,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HES. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Hess in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Covestor Ltd raised its position in Hess by 59.8% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Hess by 47.6% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 273 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in Hess during the 3rd quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in Hess during the 3rd quarter valued at about $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HES opened at $146.33 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.05 and a beta of 1.15. The business has a 50-day moving average of $139.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $142.28. Hess Co. has a fifty-two week low of $123.79 and a fifty-two week high of $163.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.26. Hess had a return on equity of 27.41% and a net margin of 20.58%. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.64 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 9.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This is a positive change from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on HES shares. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price 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. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Hess from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Hess presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $163.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.47, for a total value of $12,890,115.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 223,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,791,753.09. This represents a 28.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 27,581 shares in the company, valued at $3,914,019.71. This trade represents a 17.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 314,370 shares of company stock worth $45,856,309 in the last quarter. 9.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.