US Asset Management LLC Invests $601,000 in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

US Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 4,168 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $601,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of HES. FMR LLC raised its stake in Hess by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 37,239,078 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $5,697,579,000 after acquiring an additional 889,122 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Hess by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,790,382 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,191,928,000 after buying an additional 303,942 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Hess by 44.1% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,610,484 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $552,404,000 after acquiring an additional 1,105,204 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Hess by 19.9% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,951,451 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $451,572,000 after acquiring an additional 489,169 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Hess by 1.5% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,866,681 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $438,602,000 after purchasing an additional 42,802 shares in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HES has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Hess from $172.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hess in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. They set a “sell” rating on the stock. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Hess from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Hess from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Hess currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $177.42.

Insider Activity at Hess

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

Hess Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HES traded down $0.32 on Friday, hitting $159.63. The company had a trading volume of 650,083 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,617,056. The company has a market cap of $49.18 billion, a PE ratio of 24.49 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a 50 day moving average of $153.12 and a 200 day moving average of $147.07. Hess Co. has a 52-week low of $124.27 and a 52-week high of $167.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas producer reported $3.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $1.43. The business had revenue of $3.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.98 billion. Hess had a net margin of 17.41% and a return on equity of 22.73%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 36.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 9.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 18th were given a $0.4375 dividend. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 15th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.80%.

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.