Ninety One UK Ltd Reduces Position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Ninety One UK Ltd reduced its holdings in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 15.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,313,657 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 232,365 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd owned about 0.43% of Hess worth $189,377,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Waterfront Wealth Inc. grew its stake in Hess by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 4,457 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $642,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its position in Hess by 110.5% during the 4th quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 539 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hess in the 4th quarter valued at $384,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of Hess by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 129,977 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $18,737,000 after acquiring an additional 8,439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC boosted its position in Hess by 38.2% during the fourth quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 4,165 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $601,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Stock Performance

NYSE:HES traded up $0.62 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $151.42. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 402,745 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,582,602. The business’s fifty day moving average is $149.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $146.76. The stock has a market cap of $46.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.66 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.96. Hess Co. has a 1 year low of $124.27 and a 1 year high of $167.75.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.76 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 17.00% and a net margin of 12.98%. The company’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.78 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 8.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 18th were issued a $0.4375 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 15th. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.16%. Hess’s payout ratio is 38.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HES has been the subject of several analyst reports. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Hess from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Hess from $152.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Hess from $172.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on Hess in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “sell” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $176.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 73,885 shares of Hess stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.87, for a total value of $10,777,604.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 138,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,234,794.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, COO Gregory P. Hill sold 56,925 shares of Hess stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.35, for a total value of $8,330,973.75. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 78,287 shares in the company, valued at $11,457,302.45. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 73,885 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.87, for a total transaction of $10,777,604.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 138,718 shares in the company, valued at $20,234,794.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 155,798 shares of company stock worth $22,811,166. Company insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

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.