Slotnik Capital LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Slotnik Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 13.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 156,400 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 18,400 shares during the period. Hess comprises 7.1% of Slotnik Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Slotnik Capital LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Hess worth $21,239,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HES. HBK Investments L P lifted its holdings in shares of Hess by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 7,117,820 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $966,600,000 after purchasing an additional 1,017,720 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 31.0% during the third 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 acquiring an additional 785,270 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Hess by 34.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,835,486 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $418,291,000 after purchasing an additional 726,631 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in Hess by 76.4% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,532,132 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $227,273,000 after purchasing an additional 663,338 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in Hess by 64.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,449,969 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $218,220,000 after purchasing an additional 567,550 shares in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Hess from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Hess from $171.00 to $151.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $163.30.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of HES opened at $147.06 on Friday. Hess Co. has a 1-year low of $123.79 and a 1-year high of $163.98. The stock has a market cap of $45.31 billion, a PE ratio of 17.14 and a beta of 1.15. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $140.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $142.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.96 billion. Hess had a net margin of 20.58% and a return on equity of 27.41%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.64 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 9.74 EPS for the current year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. This is an increase from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Hess’s payout ratio is currently 23.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of Hess stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total value of $851,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 27,581 shares in the company, valued at $3,914,019.71. The trade was a 17.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 92,894 shares of Hess stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.80, for a total transaction of $13,729,733.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 229,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,914,927. This represents a 28.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 314,370 shares of company stock worth $45,856,309 over the last 90 days. 9.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.