Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Acquires 13,542 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 23.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 70,910 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 13,542 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Hess were worth $10,222,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC increased its position in Hess by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 37,239,078 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $5,697,579,000 after buying an additional 889,122 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Hess by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,790,382 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,191,928,000 after buying an additional 303,942 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Hess by 44.1% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,610,484 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $552,404,000 after buying an additional 1,105,204 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its position in Hess by 19.9% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,951,451 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $451,572,000 after buying an additional 489,169 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Hess by 1.5% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,866,681 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $438,602,000 after purchasing an additional 42,802 shares during the period. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on HES shares. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Hess from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com started coverage on Hess in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. They set a “sell” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Hess from $172.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on Hess from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $177.42.

Hess Price Performance

NYSE:HES traded up $0.57 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $156.80. The company had a trading volume of 573,976 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,554,443. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.31 billion, a PE ratio of 34.72 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $150.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $146.93. Hess Co. has a one year low of $124.27 and a one year high of $167.75.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.76 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 17.00% and a net margin of 12.98%. The business’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.78 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 8.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 18th were paid a $0.4375 dividend. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 15th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Andrew P. Slentz sold 1,062 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.52, for a total transaction of $153,480.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 50,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,257,071.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 13,921 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.08, for a total transaction of $2,103,184.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 33,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,073,417.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Andrew P. Slentz sold 1,062 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.52, for a total value of $153,480.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 50,215 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,257,071.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 155,798 shares of company stock valued at $22,811,166. 9.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.