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

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 107,759 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,281 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Hess were worth $14,071,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avestar Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hess by 17.2% during the fourth quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 1,829 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $243,000 after buying an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Hess by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 23,358 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $3,107,000 after acquiring an additional 2,119 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in Hess by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 27,651 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $3,744,000 after acquiring an additional 463 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC raised its holdings in Hess by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $140,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hess by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 3,867 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $514,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 125,000 shares of Hess stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.08, for a total transaction of $18,385,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 217,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,047,849.52. The trade was a 36.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Hess Stock Performance

NYSE:HES opened at $146.65 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $140.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $138.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Hess Co. has a twelve month low of $123.79 and a twelve month high of $163.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.29 and a beta of 1.17.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders 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 1.36%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on HES shares. Pickering Energy Partners raised Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Friday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.60.

Hess 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.