National Bank of Canada FI Buys 109,603 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 136.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 190,098 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 109,603 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI owned about 0.06% of Hess worth $27,522,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hess during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Hess in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hess in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hess during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Fortis Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hess during the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on HES. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Hess from $172.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Hess from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Hess from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess in a research note on Friday. They issued a “sell” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Hess currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $177.42.

Hess Price Performance

Hess stock opened at $159.40 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $49.11 billion, a PE ratio of 24.41 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $152.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $147.02. Hess Co. has a one year low of $124.27 and a one year high of $167.75.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas producer reported $3.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $1.43. The company had revenue of $3.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.98 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 22.73% and a net margin of 17.41%. Hess’s revenue was up 36.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 9.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 18th were paid a $0.4375 dividend. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 15th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hess

In related news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 13,921 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.08, for a total value of $2,103,184.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 33,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,073,417.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Hess news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 13,921 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.08, for a total value of $2,103,184.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 33,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,073,417.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy B. Goodell sold 2,701 shares of Hess stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.52, for a total transaction of $390,348.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 162,144 shares in the company, valued at $23,433,050.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 155,798 shares of company stock worth $22,811,166 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

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.