Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Shares Sold by Two Sigma Investments LP

Two Sigma Investments LP reduced its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 94.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,861 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 121,970 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP’s holdings in Hess were worth $913,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in Hess in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Hess during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in Hess during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hess in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its stake in shares of Hess by 225.6% in the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 293 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hess Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HES opened at $135.98 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $132.54 and a 200-day moving average of $140.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market cap of $42.06 billion, a PE ratio of 15.11 and a beta of 0.62. Hess Co. has a twelve month low of $123.79 and a twelve month high of $161.69.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. Hess’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.16 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 225,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.18, for a total transaction of $29,965,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,984,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $264,319,549.22. This trade represents a 10.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 650,000 shares of company stock worth $91,845,500. Insiders own 9.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on HES shares. Susquehanna reduced their target price on Hess from $160.00 to $136.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Hess to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday. Mizuho cut their target price on Hess from $193.00 to $191.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Hess from $151.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Hess from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $162.16.

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.