abrdn plc Raises Stock Holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

abrdn plc lifted its holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 70.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 118,256 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 48,686 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc’s holdings in Hess were worth $17,048,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hess in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Hess in the third quarter worth $30,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hess in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hess during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Fortis Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Hess during the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Stock Up 1.4 %

Hess stock opened at $159.13 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $49.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.36 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. Hess Co. has a twelve month low of $124.27 and a twelve month high of $167.75. The business has a fifty day moving average of $150.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $147.10.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.76 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 17.00% and a net margin of 12.98%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.78 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 8.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 18th were given a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 15th. Hess’s payout ratio is presently 38.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HES has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Hess from $172.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Hess from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Hess from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on Hess in a report on Thursday. They issued a “sell” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $177.42.

Insider Transactions at Hess

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 73,885 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.87, for a total transaction of $10,777,604.95. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 138,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,234,794.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 73,885 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.87, for a total transaction of $10,777,604.95. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 138,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,234,794.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Gregory P. Hill sold 56,925 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.35, for a total transaction of $8,330,973.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly 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 155,798 shares of company stock valued at $22,811,166 in the last quarter. 9.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.