Fisher Asset Management LLC Sells 6,538 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Fisher Asset Management LLC decreased its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 9.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 62,687 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 6,538 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $9,037,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Spire Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Hess by 30.7% in the third quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 319 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA lifted its position in shares of Hess by 2.0% during the third quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 4,420 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $676,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its position in shares of Hess by 33.7% in the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 385 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC boosted its stake in Hess by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 872 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Hess by 21.3% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 610 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted 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, April 18th. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Hess from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. StockNews.com started coverage on Hess in a research report on Friday. They issued a “sell” rating on the stock. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on Hess from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Hess has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $177.42.

Hess Price Performance

NYSE:HES opened at $159.40 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $152.61 and a 200 day moving average of $147.02. Hess Co. has a 52-week low of $124.27 and a 52-week high of $167.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.41 and a beta of 1.24.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas producer reported $3.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $1.43. Hess had a return on equity of 22.73% and a net margin of 17.41%. The firm had revenue of $3.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.98 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 36.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 9.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 15th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.80%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hess news, SVP Andrew P. Slentz sold 1,062 shares of Hess stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.52, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Hess news, SVP Andrew P. Slentz sold 1,062 shares of Hess stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.52, for a total value of $153,480.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 50,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,257,071.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Gregory P. Hill sold 56,925 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.35, for a total value of $8,330,973.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 78,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,457,302.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 155,798 shares of company stock valued at $22,811,166 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

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.