PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Has $9.32 Million Stock Holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. trimmed its stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 70,096 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 1,740 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Hess were worth $9,323,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of HES. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in Hess by 134.6% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 6,143 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $834,000 after purchasing an additional 3,524 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hess by 16.2% during the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,915 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $260,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hess by 9.8% during the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,026 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $275,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hess by 10,367.3% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 16,643 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,260,000 after buying an additional 16,484 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hess by 6.6% during the third quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,577 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $214,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Hess Stock Performance

Shares of HES stock opened at $144.34 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $44.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.04 and a beta of 1.21. 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 $163.98. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $144.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $140.07.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is 22.22%.

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.