Bleakley Financial Group LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC reduced its position in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,635 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 112 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $484,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Hess by 40.2% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 22,806 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,978,000 after purchasing an additional 6,542 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its position in shares of Hess by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 300,267 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $39,939,000 after purchasing an additional 37,951 shares during the last quarter. Paragon Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hess during the 4th quarter worth $1,513,000. Mather Group LLC. lifted its position in shares of Hess by 56.4% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 577 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Calamos Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Hess by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 86,420 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $11,495,000 after purchasing an additional 776 shares during the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hess currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 125,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.08, for a total transaction of $18,385,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 217,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,047,849.52. The trade was a 36.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Hess Trading Up 2.0 %

NYSE HES opened at $145.76 on Tuesday. 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 market cap of $44.91 billion, a PE ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 1.17. Hess Co. has a one year low of $123.79 and a one year high of $163.98. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $140.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $138.91.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. Analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Hess’s payout ratio is 22.22%.

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.