Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems lessened its holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 19,254 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 1,573 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Hess were worth $2,615,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Hess during the 2nd quarter worth $6,054,000. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Hess by 59.9% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 26,823 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,087,000 after buying an additional 10,053 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in shares of Hess by 424.8% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 19,466 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,971,000 after buying an additional 15,757 shares in the last quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Hess by 2.7% during the second quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 590,326 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $87,085,000 after buying an additional 15,684 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in Hess by 255.1% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 6,836 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,008,000 after acquiring an additional 4,911 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Stock Up 0.4 %

HES stock opened at $145.64 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $44.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.97 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $136.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $142.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Hess Co. has a 12 month low of $123.79 and a 12 month high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.96 billion. Hess had a net margin of 20.58% and a return on equity of 27.41%. The business’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.64 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 9.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. This is a positive change from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Hess’s payout ratio is presently 23.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HES has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Hess from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Hess in a report on Monday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price target on Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 5th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Hess from $171.00 to $151.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 27th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Hess has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $163.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.47, for a total transaction of $12,890,115.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 223,147 shares in the company, valued at $31,791,753.09. The trade was a 28.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction of $851,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 27,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,914,019.71. The trade was a 17.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Hess Company 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.