Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. Has $256,000 Stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 21.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,778 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 489 shares during the quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Hess were worth $256,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 2.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 37,239,078 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $5,697,579,000 after buying an additional 889,122 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 2.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,928,530 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $3,310,590,000 after buying an additional 667,979 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 4.1% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,790,382 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,191,928,000 after buying an additional 303,942 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 1.7% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,728,515 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $756,386,000 after buying an additional 93,731 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 44.1% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,610,484 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $552,404,000 after buying an additional 1,105,204 shares during the period. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hess Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of HES opened at $151.78 on Friday. Hess Co. has a 52 week low of $124.27 and a 52 week high of $167.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.73 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $149.71 and a 200-day moving average of $146.79.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.20. Hess had a return on equity of 17.00% and a net margin of 12.98%. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.78 EPS. Hess’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 8.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 18th were paid a $0.4375 dividend. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 15th. Hess’s payout ratio is 38.89%.

Insider Activity at Hess

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 73,885 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.87, for a total value of $10,777,604.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 138,718 shares in the company, valued at $20,234,794.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 73,885 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.87, for a total value of $10,777,604.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 138,718 shares in the company, valued at $20,234,794.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Andrew P. Slentz sold 1,062 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.52, for a total value of $153,480.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 50,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,257,071.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 155,798 shares of company stock worth $22,811,166 over the last three months. Company insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HES has been the subject of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Hess from $172.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Mizuho upped their target price on Hess from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Hess in a research note on Wednesday. They set a “sell” rating for the company. Finally, Susquehanna upped their target price on Hess from $152.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $176.75.

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.