Proficio Capital Partners LLC Invests $15.17 Million in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 114,014 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $15,165,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HES. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hess in the fourth quarter worth $259,000. New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Hess by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 37,159 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $4,943,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Carlson Capital L.P. increased its position in Hess by 194.0% in the 4th quarter. Carlson Capital L.P. now owns 29,400 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $3,910,000 after purchasing an additional 19,400 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of Hess by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 2,154 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lake Street Advisors Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hess during the 4th quarter valued at about $233,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Trading Up 1.4 %

Hess stock opened at $149.04 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $142.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $139.65. 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 $45.92 billion, a PE ratio of 16.56 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.12.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. Equities research analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on HES. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded Hess to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Sunday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.60.

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.