Deutsche Bank AG Has $94.68 Million Position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 11.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 711,821 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 71,528 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG’s holdings in Hess were worth $94,679,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Hess by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 326,921 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $44,396,000 after buying an additional 10,738 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Hess by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,246 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $848,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC increased its position in Hess by 21.6% in the 4th quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 2,368 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $315,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares during the period. Czech National Bank raised its stake in shares of Hess by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 59,927 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $7,971,000 after acquiring an additional 3,625 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital lifted its holdings in shares of Hess by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,906 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $556,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Hess

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were 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. This trade represents a 6.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 9.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hess Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of Hess stock opened at $132.06 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $140.25 and its 200 day moving average is $141.46. Hess Co. has a one year low of $123.79 and a one year high of $161.69. The firm has a market cap of $40.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.67 and a beta of 0.61. 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 (NYSE:HES) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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). Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. The company had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.16 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on HES shares. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $136.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Hess in a research report on Monday, May 5th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Hess from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.46.

Hess Company 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.