Kimelman & Baird LLC Takes Position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 3,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $443,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HES. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Hess by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 100,330 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $14,464,000 after acquiring an additional 12,649 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hess by 59.9% in the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 26,823 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,087,000 after acquiring an additional 10,053 shares during the last quarter. K2 Principal Fund L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Hess in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,616,000. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Hess in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,967,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in Hess by 424.8% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 19,466 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,971,000 after acquiring an additional 15,757 shares during the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on HES shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Hess from $171.00 to $151.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Wolfe Research began coverage on Hess in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on Hess from $165.00 to $157.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 12th. StockNews.com began coverage on Hess in a report on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a report on Friday, September 13th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $166.42.

Hess Stock Performance

NYSE:HES opened at $133.61 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.46 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a fifty day moving average of $136.24 and a 200-day moving average of $146.58. Hess Co. has a twelve month low of $123.79 and a twelve month high of $167.75.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $3.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.24 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 27.43% and a net margin of 21.22%. Hess’s revenue for the quarter was up 40.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 10.46 EPS for the current year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. This is an increase from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Hess’s payout ratio is 30.63%.

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.