Great Lakes Advisors LLC Has $1.23 Million Stock Position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,246 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 138 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $1,230,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in Hess during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Hess during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its position in Hess by 22.7% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 22,606 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 4,186 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Hess by 59.8% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Hess during the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Price Performance

NYSE HES opened at $148.21 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $145.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $140.21. Hess Co. has a 52-week low of $123.79 and a 52-week high of $163.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market cap of $45.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.47 and a beta of 1.21.

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

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. 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 payout ratio is 22.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on HES. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Monday, March 10th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup upped their target price 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. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.