Huntington National Bank Has $308,000 Stock Holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 15.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,319 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the quarter. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in Hess were worth $308,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Hess by 58.9% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,391,311 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Hess by 46.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,930,509 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $389,787,000 after buying an additional 927,093 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of Hess in the fourth quarter valued at about $47,056,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Hess in the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,158,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hess by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,141,244 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,408,117,000 after acquiring an additional 296,406 shares during the period. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Hess

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total value of $27,877,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,384,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $379,879,364.70. This represents a 6.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 9.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Hess Price Performance

Shares of HES opened at $133.89 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $148.37 and its 200 day moving average is $142.66. Hess Co. has a 12-month low of $123.79 and a 12-month high of $163.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market cap of $41.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.88 and a beta of 0.88.

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

Hess Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. 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.