Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,181 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 87 shares during the period. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $296,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Hess in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in Hess by 59.8% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Hess by 47.6% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 273 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Hess during the third quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in Hess during the 2nd quarter valued at $60,000. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on HES. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Hess from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Sunday, November 10th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Hess from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $163.30.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total value of $851,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 27,581 shares in the company, valued at $3,914,019.71. The trade was a 17.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.47, for a total transaction of $12,890,115.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 223,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,791,753.09. This trade represents a 28.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Hess Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:HES opened at $145.64 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $44.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.97 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Hess Co. has a 12 month low of $123.79 and a 12 month high of $163.98. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $136.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $143.07.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.26. Hess had a return on equity of 27.41% and a net margin of 20.58%. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.64 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 9.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. This is a boost from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Hess’s payout ratio is presently 23.31%.

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.