Amundi Trims Position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Amundi cut its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 21.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,706,282 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 459,128 shares during the period. Amundi’s holdings in Hess were worth $238,555,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Hess during the fourth quarter worth $3,117,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Hess during the fourth quarter worth $2,274,000. Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of Hess by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 59,927 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $7,971,000 after acquiring an additional 3,625 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Hess by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 43,085 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $5,731,000 after acquiring an additional 1,861 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hess by 20.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,213,574 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $169,767,000 after acquiring an additional 208,996 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Trading Up 3.1 %

Shares of HES opened at $147.73 on Monday. Hess Co. has a twelve month low of $123.79 and a twelve month high of $163.98. The company has a market cap of $45.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.41 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $143.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $139.94.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Monday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.60.

About Hess

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.