Yousif Capital Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Yousif Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,302 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 2,634 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $4,962,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HES. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Hess by 58.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,753,126 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $509,675,000 after acquiring an additional 1,391,311 shares during the period. HBK Investments L P grew its position in shares of Hess by 16.7% during the third quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 7,117,820 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $966,600,000 after purchasing an additional 1,017,720 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Hess by 31.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,318,822 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $450,696,000 after purchasing an additional 785,270 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in Hess in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $75,126,000. Finally, ING Groep NV boosted its stake in Hess by 267.8% in the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 533,264 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $72,417,000 after purchasing an additional 388,273 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on Hess in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.50.

Hess Stock Performance

NYSE:HES opened at $141.76 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.68 billion, a PE ratio of 15.75 and a beta of 1.17. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $140.41 and its 200 day moving average is $139.05. Hess Co. has a fifty-two week low of $123.79 and a fifty-two week high of $163.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.12.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.22%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 92,894 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.80, for a total value of $13,729,733.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 229,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,914,927. This represents a 28.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

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.