Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Shares Bought by Moore Capital Management LP

Moore Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 65.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 21,981 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,700 shares during the quarter. Moore Capital Management LP’s holdings in Hess were worth $2,924,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of HES. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in Hess in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hess in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hess in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hess in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its position in shares of Hess by 225.6% in the fourth 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Trading Up 2.0%

Hess stock opened at $135.03 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $41.77 billion, a PE ratio of 15.00 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $140.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $141.44. Hess Co. has a 52 week low of $123.79 and a 52 week high of $161.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted 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 company had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.95 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.16 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on HES. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Hess from $160.00 to $136.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. StockNews.com began coverage on Hess in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. UBS Group dropped their price target on Hess from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price target 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hess presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $164.46.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hess 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 value of $27,877,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,384,679 shares in the company, valued at $379,879,364.70. The trade was a 6.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 9.10% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.