Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Position Reduced by Envestnet Asset Management Inc.

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 16.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 139,316 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 27,151 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Hess were worth $18,530,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Hess by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 2,154 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $287,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,971 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $528,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Hess by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,682 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Hess by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,809 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Hess by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 629 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of Hess stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total transaction of $27,877,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,384,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $379,879,364.70. The trade was a 6.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 9.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hess Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Hess stock opened at $127.80 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Hess Co. has a 1-year low of $123.79 and a 1-year high of $163.98. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $146.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $142.59. The company has a market capitalization of $39.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.20 and a beta of 0.88.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. Hess’s payout ratio is 22.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HES has been the topic of a number of research reports. Pickering Energy Partners raised shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Friday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price target on Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hess has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $168.56.

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.