Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Purchases New Holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,709 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $232,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its stake in shares of Hess by 22.7% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 22,606 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 4,186 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in Hess by 59.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hess during the third quarter worth $37,000. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Hess during the third quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hess by 157.2% in the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 355 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction of $851,460.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 27,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,914,019.71. The trade was a 17.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 125,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.08, for a total value of $18,385,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 217,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,047,849.52. This trade represents a 36.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 314,370 shares of company stock worth $45,856,309 over the last 90 days. 9.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hess Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE HES opened at $134.41 on Wednesday. Hess Co. has a 52 week low of $123.79 and a 52 week high of $163.98. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $141.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $141.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market cap of $41.41 billion, a PE ratio of 15.67 and a beta of 1.17.

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

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. Hess’s payout ratio is 23.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Citigroup upped their target price on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.50.

Hess Company 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.