Stifel Financial Corp Acquires 8,174 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 26.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 39,361 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,174 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in Hess were worth $5,346,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Hess by 59.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hess in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Hess during the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000. Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in Hess during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $55,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in Hess during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hess

In other news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total value of $851,460.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 27,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,914,019.71. This represents a 17.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 125,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.08, for a total value of $18,385,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 217,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,047,849.52. The trade was a 36.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 314,370 shares of company stock valued at $45,856,309. Corporate insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Hess Trading Down 0.6 %

HES opened at $140.20 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Hess Co. has a 52 week low of $123.79 and a 52 week high of $163.98. The stock has a market cap of $43.20 billion, a PE ratio of 16.34 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a 50 day moving average of $141.65 and a 200-day moving average of $141.41.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 27.41% and a net margin of 20.58%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.64 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 9.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HES has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Hess from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.50.

About Hess

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.