Keel Point LLC Makes New $205,000 Investment in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Keel Point LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,543 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Hess during the 3rd quarter valued at about $232,000. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in Hess by 4.0% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 19,830 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,693,000 after acquiring an additional 757 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hess by 20.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,213,574 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $169,767,000 after purchasing an additional 208,996 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 3.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 326,921 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $44,396,000 after buying an additional 10,738 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Hess by 64.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 774 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Trading Up 2.0 %

NYSE:HES opened at $132.33 on Friday. Hess Co. has a one year low of $123.79 and a one year high of $161.69. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $141.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $141.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.70 and a beta of 0.88. 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 issued 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). The company had revenue of $2.92 billion during 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.16 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The company 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hess

In other 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 sale, the chief executive officer now 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 9.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on HES shares. UBS Group cut their price objective on Hess from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Sunday, April 27th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $136.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.46.

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.