M&T Bank Corp Buys 615 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,385 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 615 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Hess were worth $1,514,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Hess in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Hess in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Groupama Asset Managment grew its stake in shares of Hess by 22.7% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 22,606 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 4,186 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in Hess by 59.8% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess in the third quarter worth $37,000. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HES has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com started coverage on Hess in a research note on Monday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Pickering Energy Partners raised shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hess has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.60.

Hess Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE HES opened at $148.08 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market cap of $45.65 billion, a PE ratio of 16.45 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $144.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $140.03. Hess Co. has a 12 month low of $123.79 and a 12 month high of $163.98.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. Equities research analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. Hess’s payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

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.