The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Cuts Stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company decreased its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 202,815 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 15,000 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.07% of Hess worth $27,542,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Drive Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Hess by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,599 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $678,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC grew its holdings in Hess by 7.3% during the second quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,074 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $158,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Hess by 16.9% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 540 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Hess by 2.4% in the third quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,266 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $444,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Hess by 4.7% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,771 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $261,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HES has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $163.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction of $851,460.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 27,581 shares in the company, valued at $3,914,019.71. This represents a 17.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 223,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 314,370 shares of company stock worth $45,856,309. 9.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hess Stock Performance

NYSE HES opened at $147.06 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Hess Co. has a fifty-two week low of $123.79 and a fifty-two week high of $163.98. The business has a fifty day moving average of $140.25 and a 200-day moving average of $142.25. The stock has a market cap of $45.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.14 and a beta of 1.15.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.26. Hess had a net margin of 20.58% and a return on equity of 27.41%. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 9.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase 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 1.36%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.31%.

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.