Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Shares Acquired by Banco Santander S.A.

Banco Santander S.A. increased its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 35.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,611 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 944 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Hess were worth $490,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Drive Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hess by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,599 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $678,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Hess by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,074 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $158,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Hess by 16.9% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 540 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Hess by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,266 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $444,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Hess by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,771 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $261,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hess news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction of $851,460.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 27,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,914,019.71. This trade represents a 17.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of Hess 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 223,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,791,753.09. This trade represents a 28.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 314,370 shares of company stock valued at $45,856,309 in the last quarter. 9.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on HES. 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. Citigroup reduced their price objective 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. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a report on Friday, September 13th. Mizuho decreased their price target on Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $163.30.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HES opened at $148.65 on Friday. Hess Co. has a one year low of $123.79 and a one year high of $163.98. The stock has a market cap of $45.80 billion, a PE ratio of 17.33 and a beta of 1.15. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $138.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $142.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.64 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 9.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This is an increase from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. Hess’s payout ratio is 23.31%.

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.