Freestone Capital Holdings LLC Boosts Stock Position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Freestone Capital Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 95.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 14,844 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,252 shares during the quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $1,974,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Hess during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,117,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Hess during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,274,000. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in Hess by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 59,927 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $7,971,000 after purchasing an additional 3,625 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Hess by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 43,085 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $5,731,000 after purchasing an additional 1,861 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in 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 worth $169,767,000 after purchasing an additional 208,996 shares during the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of HES opened at $143.35 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $44.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.93 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $143.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $139.83. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $123.79 and a 12 month high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. On average, research analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on HES. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com began coverage on Hess in a report on Sunday, March 2nd. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded Hess to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group boosted their price target on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.60.

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.