Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Shares Sold by Cannon Global Investment Management LLC

Cannon Global Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 32.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,600 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 6,400 shares during the quarter. Hess makes up 3.9% of Cannon Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Cannon Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $1,809,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in HES. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Hess by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,141,244 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $4,408,117,000 after purchasing an additional 296,406 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 33,976 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $4,519,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of Hess during the fourth quarter worth $42,158,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Hess by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 333,056 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $44,300,000 after buying an additional 42,797 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in Hess by 46.2% in the fourth quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 26,195 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $3,484,000 after buying an additional 8,273 shares during the period. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hess Price Performance

Hess stock opened at $156.59 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.40 and a beta of 1.21. Hess Co. has a one year low of $123.79 and a one year high of $163.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $146.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $140.90.

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

Hess Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.