Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Shares Sold by National Bank of Canada FI

National Bank of Canada FI lessened its holdings in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 19.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 153,376 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 36,722 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Hess were worth $24,601,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Hess by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 1,966 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Hess by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,849 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,996,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess in the fourth quarter valued at $65,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hess by 23.8% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 21,670 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $3,124,000 after acquiring an additional 4,167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess in the fourth quarter valued at $201,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on HES. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Hess from $167.00 to $166.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Hess from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $166.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Hess from $172.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com began coverage on Hess in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price target on Hess from $165.00 to $157.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $178.58.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of HES traded up $1.89 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $148.90. The stock had a trading volume of 429,995 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,380,567. Hess Co. has a 52 week low of $131.61 and a 52 week high of $167.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $149.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $149.34. The company has a market capitalization of $45.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.51 and a beta of 1.16.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas producer reported $3.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $1.43. The company had revenue of $3.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.98 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 22.73% and a net margin of 17.41%. Hess’s revenue for the quarter was up 36.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 10.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were given a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. Hess’s payout ratio is 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.