Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Shares Acquired by Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd

Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd raised its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 38.4% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 429,885 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 119,374 shares during the period. Hess makes up 5.3% of Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd’s holdings in Hess were worth $58,378,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Drive Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Hess by 2.4% in the third quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,266 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $444,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Hess by 4.7% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,771 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $261,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hess by 0.6% in the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,629 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,158,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Hess by 47.6% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 273 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on HES shares. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. 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. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hess currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $164.50.

Hess Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Hess stock opened at $147.26 on Wednesday. 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 Co. has a 52 week low of $123.79 and a 52 week high of $163.98. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $140.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $141.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.37 billion, a PE ratio of 17.16 and a beta of 1.17.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 9.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 92,894 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.80, for a total transaction of $13,729,733.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 229,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,914,927. This represents a 28.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of Hess stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total value of $851,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 314,370 shares of company stock valued at $45,856,309. 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.