Keating Investment Counselors Inc. Sells 1,912 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Keating Investment Counselors Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 35.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,438 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 1,912 shares during the period. Keating Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Hess were worth $525,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HES. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Hess during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Hess during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hess in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hess in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in Hess during the first quarter valued at $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on HES. Mizuho boosted their price target on Hess from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Friday, June 28th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Hess from $172.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on Hess from $164.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Hess from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $178.17.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HES traded up $0.64 during trading on Friday, hitting $148.38. 1,206,774 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,751,385. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $150.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $149.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.10. Hess Co. has a 52-week low of $131.61 and a 52-week high of $167.75. The company has a market cap of $45.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.72 and a beta of 1.16.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas producer reported $3.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $1.43. Hess had a net margin of 17.41% and a return on equity of 22.73%. The firm had revenue of $3.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.98 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 36.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 10.52 EPS for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a $0.4375 dividend. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Hess’s payout ratio is currently 26.80%.

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.