Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Purchases 20,984 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 15.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 160,063 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,984 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Hess were worth $21,290,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Hess during the fourth quarter worth about $3,117,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Hess during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,274,000. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in Hess by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 59,927 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $7,971,000 after purchasing an additional 3,625 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 4.7% during 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 buying an additional 82,703 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Hess by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 43,085 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $5,731,000 after acquiring an additional 1,861 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE HES opened at $132.06 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $140.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $141.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.12. Hess Co. has a 52-week low of $123.79 and a 52-week high of $161.69. The company has a market capitalization of $40.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.67 and a beta of 0.61.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.14). Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. The firm 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 firm earned $3.16 EPS. Hess’s quarterly revenue was down 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 represents a 6.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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.