Quest Partners LLC Has $458,000 Holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Quest Partners LLC decreased its position in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 67.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,369 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 6,961 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $458,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of HES. Primecap Management Co. CA increased its holdings in Hess by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 8,098,012 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,194,619,000 after purchasing an additional 340,490 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Hess by 34.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 726,631 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of Hess by 6.6% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,451,807 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $361,691,000 after buying an additional 150,945 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Hess by 11.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,798,788 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $265,359,000 after buying an additional 181,459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $264,664,000 after buying an additional 561,832 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of HES opened at $148.65 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $45.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.33 and a beta of 1.15. Hess Co. has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $163.98. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $138.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $142.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. Hess had a net margin of 20.58% and a return on equity of 27.41%. Hess’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.64 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 9.72 earnings per share for the current 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 dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This is an increase from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on HES shares. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Hess in a research note on Monday, November 18th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Hess from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $163.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 92,894 shares of Hess stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.80, for a total value of $13,729,733.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 229,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,914,927. The trade was a 28.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 27,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,914,019.71. This represents a 17.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 314,370 shares of company stock worth $45,856,309. Corporate insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

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.