Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Shares Acquired by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 2.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,755,376 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 43,061 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Hess were worth $238,380,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Drive Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Hess by 1.6% in the second quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,599 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $678,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC lifted its position in Hess by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,074 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $158,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Hess by 16.9% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 540 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Hess by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,266 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $444,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Hess by 4.7% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,771 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $261,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction of $851,460.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.47, for a total value of $12,890,115.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 223,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,791,753.09. The trade was a 28.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 314,370 shares of company stock worth $45,856,309 over the last 90 days. 9.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on HES shares. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Susquehanna increased their price target on Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Hess from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Hess from $171.00 to $151.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $163.30.

Hess Trading Up 0.5 %

Hess stock opened at $148.65 on Friday. Hess Co. has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $163.98. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $138.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $142.58. The firm has a market cap of $45.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.33 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.26.

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

Hess Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.31%.

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.