Qtron Investments LLC Purchases Shares of 2,605 Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Qtron Investments LLC bought a new stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 2,605 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $346,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Hess by 46.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,930,509 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $389,787,000 after acquiring an additional 927,093 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its position in shares of Hess by 183.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 594,425 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $79,064,000 after purchasing an additional 384,595 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in shares of Hess in the 4th quarter valued at $47,056,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Hess during the 4th quarter worth $42,158,000. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC lifted its holdings in Hess by 67.1% during the fourth quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 744,536 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $99,031,000 after acquiring an additional 299,041 shares in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hess Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE HES opened at $128.42 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $146.66 and a 200-day moving average of $142.63. Hess Co. has a 1-year low of $123.79 and a 1-year high of $163.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a market cap of $39.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.27 and a beta of 0.88.

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

Hess Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Hess’s payout ratio is 22.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of Hess stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total transaction of $27,877,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,384,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $379,879,364.70. The trade was a 6.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 9.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Pickering Energy Partners raised shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Friday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price 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. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.56.

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.