Venturi Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 215.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,205 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 1,505 shares during the quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $293,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Hess in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 22.7% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 22,606 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 4,186 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Hess by 59.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hess in the third quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Hess during the 3rd quarter valued at $48,000. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Friday, February 14th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded Hess to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.60.

Hess Trading Up 1.3 %

HES opened at $151.19 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Hess Co. has a 52 week low of $123.79 and a 52 week high of $163.98. The stock has a market cap of $46.58 billion, a PE ratio of 16.80 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a 50 day moving average of $140.66 and a 200-day moving average of $138.92.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.22%.

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.