Empowered Funds LLC Cuts Stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Empowered Funds LLC decreased its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 96,830 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 3,988 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $13,150,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Hess in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,054,000. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 59.9% in the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 26,823 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $4,087,000 after buying an additional 10,053 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 424.8% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 19,466 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,971,000 after buying an additional 15,757 shares in the last quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Hess by 2.7% during the second quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 590,326 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $87,085,000 after acquiring an additional 15,684 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its position in Hess by 255.1% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 6,836 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,008,000 after acquiring an additional 4,911 shares in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hess Stock Performance

Shares of HES opened at $145.35 on Friday. Hess Co. has a 52 week low of $123.79 and a 52 week high of $163.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.26. The company has a market capitalization of $44.79 billion, a PE ratio of 16.91 and a beta of 1.15. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $136.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $143.18.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.96 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.64 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 9.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. 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. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is 23.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HES has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their target price on Hess from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Wolfe Research raised Hess from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on Hess in a research note on Sunday, November 10th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hess currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $163.30.

Insider Activity

In other Hess news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction of $851,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 27,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,914,019.71. This represents a 17.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of the firm’s 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 $31,791,753.09. The trade was a 28.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.76% of the stock is 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.