Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Shares Purchased by Metis Global Partners LLC

Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,466 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 595 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $1,658,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Hess by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 2,154 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Hess by 2.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Hess by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,682 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Hess by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,809 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Hess by 18.0% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 629 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Sunday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.60.

Hess Price Performance

Hess stock opened at $143.83 on Tuesday. Hess Co. has a one year low of $123.79 and a one year 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. The business has a fifty day moving average of $142.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $139.75. The company has a market cap of $44.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.98 and a beta of 1.17.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. As a group, analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.22%.

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.