Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC Lowers Stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lessened its stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,334,987 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 97,262 shares during the quarter. Hess comprises 1.5% of Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $443,587,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in Hess in the 4th quarter worth about $3,117,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,274,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Hess by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,838,079 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $244,483,000 after purchasing an additional 82,703 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Hess by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 43,085 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $5,731,000 after purchasing an additional 1,861 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Hess by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 333,056 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $44,300,000 after purchasing an additional 42,797 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Stock Performance

HES stock opened at $129.93 on Friday. 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 $40.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.44 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.12. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $138.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $141.20.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. The company’s revenue was down 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.16 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Hess’s payout ratio is presently 27.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HES has been the subject of several research reports. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Hess from $151.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Hess from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen began coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Wednesday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $136.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hess has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $162.16.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $379,879,364.70. The trade was a 6.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 9.10% of the company’s stock.

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.