National Pension Service Grows Stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

National Pension Service lifted its stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 449,371 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,534 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned 0.15% of Hess worth $64,781,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hess during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hess in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hess in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Hess during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess during the third quarter valued at $33,000. 88.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 13,921 shares of Hess stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.08, for a total transaction of $2,103,184.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 33,581 shares in the company, valued at $5,073,417.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Hess news, COO Gregory P. Hill sold 56,925 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.35, for a total transaction of $8,330,973.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 78,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,457,302.45. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 13,921 shares of Hess stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.08, for a total value of $2,103,184.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 33,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,073,417.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 155,798 shares of company stock valued at $22,811,166. Corporate insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Hess Stock Performance

Shares of HES stock traded up $1.83 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $159.49. 668,614 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,626,324. Hess Co. has a 12-month low of $124.27 and a 12-month high of $167.75. The company has a market cap of $49.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.29 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $152.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $146.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas producer reported $3.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $1.43. The firm had revenue of $3.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.98 billion. Hess had a net margin of 17.41% and a return on equity of 22.73%. The company’s revenue was up 36.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.13 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 9.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 15th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on HES shares. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Hess from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Hess from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Hess from $172.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on Hess in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. They issued a “sell” rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $177.42.

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.