Courier Capital LLC Trims Stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Courier Capital LLC reduced its position in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 18.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,437 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 325 shares during the quarter. Courier Capital LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $230,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in Hess during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Hess during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Hess in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Hess in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its position in shares of Hess by 225.6% in the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 293 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hess Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of HES stock opened at $138.67 on Wednesday. Hess Co. has a 1-year low of $123.79 and a 1-year high of $161.69. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $131.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $140.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The company has a market cap of $42.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.41 and a beta of 0.62.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.14). Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. The business had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.16 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. Hess’s payout ratio is presently 27.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on HES. UBS Group reduced 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. Susquehanna reduced 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. Wall Street Zen raised Hess to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Hess from $151.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target on Hess from $193.00 to $191.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $162.16.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hess

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 225,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.18, for a total transaction of $29,965,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,984,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $264,319,549.22. The trade was a 10.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 650,000 shares of company stock worth $91,845,500. 9.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.