Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Stake Cut by Sentry Investment Management LLC

Sentry Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,434 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 154 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $207,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Hess in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Hess in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. KB Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. 88.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Susquehanna raised their price target on Hess from $152.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Hess in a research note on Wednesday. They set a “sell” rating for the company. Mizuho raised their price target on Hess from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on Hess from $169.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $176.67.

Hess Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HES opened at $150.26 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $46.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.39 and a beta of 1.27. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $149.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $146.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.05. Hess Co. has a 52 week low of $124.27 and a 52 week high of $167.75.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.76 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 17.00% and a net margin of 12.98%. The company’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.78 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 7.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 18th were issued a $0.4375 dividend. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 15th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hess

In other Hess news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 13,921 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.08, for a total value of $2,103,184.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 33,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,073,417.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 13,921 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.08, for a total transaction of $2,103,184.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 33,581 shares in the company, valued at $5,073,417.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy B. Goodell sold 2,701 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.52, for a total value of $390,348.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 162,144 shares in the company, valued at $23,433,050.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 155,798 shares of company stock valued at $22,811,166 in the last 90 days. 9.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.