Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt Increases Position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 110.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 539 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 283 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt’s holdings in Hess were worth $78,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Spire Wealth Management grew its position in Hess by 30.7% in the third quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 319 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its position in Hess by 24.0% during the first quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 403 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Ossiam boosted its position in Hess by 1.0% during the first quarter. Ossiam now owns 8,093 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,071,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Hess by 5.0% during the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,667 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $221,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its position in Hess by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 12,726 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,805,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hess Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE HES opened at $154.35 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $149.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $146.83. Hess Co. has a 52-week low of $124.27 and a 52-week high of $167.75. The firm has a market cap of $47.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.30 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.20. Hess had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 17.00%. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. Hess’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 8.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 18th were issued a $0.4375 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 15th. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.13%. Hess’s payout ratio is 38.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on HES shares. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Hess from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Hess from $152.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Hess from $172.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Hess in a research note on Wednesday. They set a “sell” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hess presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $176.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hess

In other news, SVP Andrew P. Slentz sold 1,062 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.52, for a total transaction of $153,480.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 50,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,257,071.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, COO Gregory P. Hill sold 56,925 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.35, for a total value of $8,330,973.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 78,287 shares in the company, valued at $11,457,302.45. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Andrew P. Slentz sold 1,062 shares of the firm’s 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 valued at $22,811,166 over the last 90 days. 9.76% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.