BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 24.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,950 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 1,259 shares during the period. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc.’s holdings in Hess were worth $525,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Hess in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Hess during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its holdings in Hess by 22.7% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 22,606 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 4,186 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of Hess by 59.8% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Hess in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Sunday, March 2nd. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Pickering Energy Partners raised shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.60.

Hess Price Performance

Hess stock opened at $147.73 on Friday. Hess Co. has a 52-week low of $123.79 and a 52-week high of $163.98. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $143.99 and a 200-day moving average of $139.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.41 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Hess’s payout ratio is currently 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.