114,014 Shares in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Purchased by Proficio Capital Partners LLC

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 114,014 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $15,165,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hess during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,117,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Hess during the 4th quarter worth $2,274,000. Czech National Bank grew its stake in shares of Hess by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 59,927 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $7,971,000 after purchasing an additional 3,625 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 43,085 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $5,731,000 after purchasing an additional 1,861 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hess by 20.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,213,574 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $169,767,000 after purchasing an additional 208,996 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of Hess stock opened at $149.04 on Friday. Hess Co. has a 12-month low of $123.79 and a 12-month high of $163.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.92 billion, a PE ratio of 16.56 and a beta of 1.17. 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’s fifty day moving average is $142.65 and its 200-day moving average is $139.65.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted 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 return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. Equities analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is 22.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.