Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Lowers Stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC cut its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 26,361 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 118 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $3,506,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. 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 valued at $444,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Hess by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,577 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $214,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in Hess by 59.8% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Hess by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,673 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC boosted its stake in Hess by 31.1% in the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 451 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hess Price Performance

NYSE:HES opened at $151.33 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.64 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $140.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $139.55. Hess Co. has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.26. Hess had a net margin of 20.58% and a return on equity of 27.41%. The company had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.64 earnings per share. Hess’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 9.51 EPS for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hess news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total value of $851,460.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 27,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,914,019.71. This represents a 17.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of Hess stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.47, for a total value of $12,890,115.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 223,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,791,753.09. This trade represents a 28.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 314,370 shares of company stock valued at $45,856,309 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HES has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com started coverage on Hess in a research report on Monday, January 13th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.50.

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.