Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Shares Purchased by Czech National Bank

Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 56,302 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 3,635 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Hess were worth $7,646,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HES. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Hess by 34.5% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,835,486 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $418,291,000 after buying an additional 726,631 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in Hess by 76.4% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,532,132 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $227,273,000 after buying an additional 663,338 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in Hess by 64.3% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,449,969 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $218,220,000 after buying an additional 567,550 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Hess by 45.6% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,794,087 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $264,664,000 after buying an additional 561,832 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sculptor Capital LP grew its position in Hess by 188.7% in the second quarter. Sculptor Capital LP now owns 765,542 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $112,933,000 after buying an additional 500,342 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Trading Up 0.7 %

Hess stock opened at $139.43 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $134.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $145.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Hess Co. has a 12 month low of $123.79 and a 12 month high of $167.75. The stock has a market cap of $42.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.35 and a beta of 1.15.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.14. Hess had a net margin of 21.22% and a return on equity of 27.43%. The business had revenue of $3.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.65 EPS. Hess’s quarterly revenue was up 40.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 10.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This is a positive change from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Hess’s payout ratio is presently 30.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on HES shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Hess from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $166.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Hess from $151.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Hess from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $165.92.

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.