Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Shares Sold by Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC

Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC lessened its stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 60.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,622 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 7,120 shares during the quarter. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $628,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Hess by 1.4% in the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 5,102 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $779,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Hess by 1.6% during the second quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,599 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $678,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 7.3% in the second 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 during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings 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 valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its stake in Hess by 10.3% during the 1st quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 855 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $131,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:HES opened at $138.50 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.21 and a beta of 1.15. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $135.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $144.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Hess Co. has a 12-month low of $123.79 and a 12-month high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $3.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.24 billion. Hess had a net margin of 21.22% and a return on equity of 27.43%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 40.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 10.22 EPS for the current year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. This is a positive change from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is 30.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Susquehanna raised their target price on Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a research note on Friday, September 13th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Hess from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Hess from $171.00 to $151.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 27th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hess has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $164.00.

About Hess

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.