Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Shares Bought by Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 18.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,575 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Hess were worth $350,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of HES. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new stake in Hess in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Hess by 59.8% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Hess by 47.6% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 273 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Hess in the third quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Hess in the third quarter valued at approximately $55,000. 88.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hess Price Performance

Hess stock opened at $148.65 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of $45.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.33 and a beta of 1.15. Hess Co. has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $163.98. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $138.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $142.58.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.26. Hess had a return on equity of 27.41% and a net margin of 20.58%. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.64 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 9.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Hess’s payout ratio is currently 23.31%.

Insider Transactions at Hess

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.47, for a total transaction of $12,890,115.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 223,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,791,753.09. This represents a 28.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total value of $851,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 314,370 shares of company stock worth $45,856,309. 9.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HES has been the subject of several research reports. Mizuho cut their price objective on Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Hess in a research note on Monday, November 18th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $163.30.

Hess Company 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.