Virtu Financial LLC Sells 22,164 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Virtu Financial LLC lessened its stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 62.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 13,189 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 22,164 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $1,754,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Hess in the fourth quarter worth about $3,117,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hess during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,274,000. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in Hess by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 59,927 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $7,971,000 after acquiring an additional 3,625 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Hess by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,838,079 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $244,483,000 after acquiring an additional 82,703 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Hess by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 43,085 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $5,731,000 after purchasing an additional 1,861 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on HES shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Pickering Energy Partners raised Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.60.

Hess Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of HES stock opened at $156.59 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Hess Co. has a 12 month low of $123.79 and a 12 month high of $163.98. The stock has a market cap of $48.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.40 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $146.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $140.83.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. On average, research analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.22%.

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.