Edgestream Partners L.P. Invests $1.02 Million in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 7,676 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,021,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of HES. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in shares of Hess by 134.6% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 6,143 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $834,000 after acquiring an additional 3,524 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Hess by 16.2% in the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,915 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Hess by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,026 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hess by 10,367.3% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 16,643 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,260,000 after buying an additional 16,484 shares during the period. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 6.6% during the third quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,577 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $214,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HES has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group raised their target price on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Pickering Energy Partners raised Hess to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Monday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.60.

Hess Trading Down 2.6 %

NYSE HES opened at $144.34 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Hess Co. has a 1-year low of $123.79 and a 1-year high of $163.98. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $144.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $140.07. The company has a market capitalization of $44.50 billion, a PE ratio of 16.04 and a beta of 1.21.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.22%.

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.