Partners in Financial Planning Makes New $598,000 Investment in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Partners in Financial Planning acquired a new stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,496 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $598,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in Hess by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 18,862 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,561,000 after acquiring an additional 1,764 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess during the third quarter worth approximately $298,000. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of Hess by 37.9% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 2,474 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 680 shares during the period. Maverick Capital Ltd. purchased a new position in Hess in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,052,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Hess in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Hess

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total transaction of $27,877,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,384,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $379,879,364.70. The trade was a 6.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Hess Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:HES opened at $158.48 on Monday. Hess Co. has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $163.98. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $147.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $142.00. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $48.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.61 and a beta of 1.21.

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%. Equities analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HES has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Pickering Energy Partners raised Hess to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.60.

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.