First Horizon Advisors Inc. Sells 570 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. cut its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 36.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,001 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 570 shares during the quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Hess were worth $133,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Hess during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Hess by 59.8% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hess during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. LRI Investments LLC raised its holdings in Hess by 157.2% in the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 355 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in Hess in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of HES stock opened at $145.42 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $44.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.16 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $141.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $139.47. Hess Co. has a 12 month low of $123.79 and a 12 month high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. On average, research analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on HES shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess in a research note on Saturday, February 22nd. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Six 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, Hess currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.60.

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.