B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Purchases Shares of 18,975 Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 18,975 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,577,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new position in Hess in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Hess by 59.8% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Hess by 47.6% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 273 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of Hess during the third quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in Hess in the third quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction of $851,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 27,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,914,019.71. This represents a 17.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.47, for a total value of $12,890,115.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 223,147 shares in the company, valued at $31,791,753.09. This trade represents a 28.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Hess Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:HES opened at $148.06 on Friday. Hess Co. has a twelve month low of $123.79 and a twelve month high of $163.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market cap of $45.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.26 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a 50 day moving average of $138.39 and a 200-day moving average of $142.77.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 27.41% and a net margin of 20.58%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.64 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 9.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HES. Citigroup lowered their target price 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. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Hess from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $163.30.

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.