Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Shares Purchased by Empirical Finance LLC

Empirical Finance LLC lifted its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 2.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,433 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $1,281,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HES. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,126,526 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,903,793,000 after buying an additional 294,146 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its position in Hess by 4.4% in the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 8,098,012 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,194,619,000 after acquiring an additional 340,490 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Hess by 34.5% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,835,486 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $418,291,000 after acquiring an additional 726,631 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Hess by 6.6% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,451,807 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $361,691,000 after purchasing an additional 150,945 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Hess by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,798,788 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $265,359,000 after purchasing an additional 181,459 shares during the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hess Stock Performance

NYSE:HES opened at $145.64 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $44.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.97 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Hess Co. has a 52 week low of $123.79 and a 52 week high of $163.98. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $136.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $143.07.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.26. The firm 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%. Hess’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.64 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 9.76 earnings per share 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 issued a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 223,147 shares in the company, valued at $31,791,753.09. This trade represents a 28.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total value of $851,460.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 27,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,914,019.71. This represents a 17.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group cut 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. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com began coverage on Hess in a research report on Sunday, November 10th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target 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 given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $163.30.

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.