UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Trims Stock Position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lowered its stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 1.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,244,207 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 32,153 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned approximately 0.73% of Hess worth $304,763,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Boussard & Gavaudan Investment Management LLP increased its stake in Hess by 38.4% in the 3rd quarter. Boussard & Gavaudan Investment Management LLP now owns 330,110 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $44,337,000 after buying an additional 91,654 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess in the third quarter valued at about $915,000. Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in Hess by 37.9% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 2,474 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 680 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP lifted its position in Hess by 107.2% in the third quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 86,502 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $11,747,000 after purchasing an additional 44,746 shares during the period. Finally, Cynosure Group LLC boosted its holdings in Hess by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 8,164 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,109,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a report on Friday, September 13th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $163.30.

Hess Stock Performance

Hess stock opened at $147.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.26. Hess Co. has a fifty-two week low of $123.79 and a fifty-two week high of $163.98. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $140.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $142.25. The company has a market capitalization of $45.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.14 and a beta of 1.15.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.26. Hess had a net margin of 20.58% and a return on equity of 27.41%. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.64 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 9.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.31%.

Insider Activity at Hess

In other news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction of $851,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 27,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,914,019.71. The trade was a 17.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 92,894 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.80, for a total value of $13,729,733.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 229,465 shares in the company, valued at $33,914,927. This trade represents a 28.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 314,370 shares of company stock worth $45,856,309. 9.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.