Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Sells 153 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lessened its position in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,990 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 153 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $797,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Truist Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Hess by 47.1% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 20,333 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,999,000 after purchasing an additional 6,508 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Hess by 1.5% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 19,751 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,914,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the period. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 56,302 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $7,646,000 after purchasing an additional 3,635 shares during the last quarter. Clarus Wealth Advisors grew its holdings in Hess by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Clarus Wealth Advisors now owns 3,221 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $452,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Hess by 12.8% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,998 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on HES. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Pickering Energy Partners raised Hess to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Hess currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.50.

Insider Transactions at Hess

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 125,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.08, for a total transaction of $18,385,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 217,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,047,849.52. This trade represents a 36.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Hess Price Performance

NYSE HES opened at $141.76 on Friday. Hess Co. has a 52 week low of $123.79 and a 52 week high of $163.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.75 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $140.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $139.05.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.22%.

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.