Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Shares Sold by CHICAGO TRUST Co NA

CHICAGO TRUST Co NA decreased its holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 17.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,516 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 945 shares during the period. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA’s holdings in Hess were worth $601,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of HES. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess in the second quarter valued at about $6,054,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hess by 20.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,213,574 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $169,767,000 after buying an additional 208,996 shares during the period. Maverick Capital Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Hess during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,052,000. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its position in shares of Hess by 295.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 84,277 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $11,445,000 after buying an additional 62,966 shares during the period. Finally, LMR Partners LLP lifted its holdings in Hess by 13.8% in the third quarter. LMR Partners LLP now owns 253,589 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $34,437,000 after acquiring an additional 30,675 shares during the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HES has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hess in a research note on Monday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Pickering Energy Partners raised shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.50.

Hess Stock Performance

Shares of HES stock opened at $144.74 on Tuesday. Hess Co. has a 52 week low of $123.79 and a 52 week high of $163.98. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $140.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $139.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.60 billion, a PE ratio of 16.87 and a beta of 1.18.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.64 earnings per share. Hess’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 9.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Hess’s payout ratio is 23.31%.

Insider Activity at Hess

In other news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction of $851,460.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 27,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,914,019.71. This trade represents a 17.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.47, for a total value of $12,890,115.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 223,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,791,753.09. This trade represents a 28.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 314,370 shares of company stock valued at $45,856,309 over the last 90 days. 9.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.