Roxbury Financial LLC Takes Position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 491 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $72,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HES. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 58.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,753,126 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $509,675,000 after purchasing an additional 1,391,311 shares during the period. HBK Investments L P boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 16.7% during the third quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 7,117,820 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $966,600,000 after purchasing an additional 1,017,720 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 31.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,318,822 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $450,696,000 after purchasing an additional 785,270 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in Hess in the third quarter worth $75,126,000. Finally, ING Groep NV lifted its stake in Hess by 267.8% in the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 533,264 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $72,417,000 after acquiring an additional 388,273 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 125,000 shares of Hess stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.08, for a total value of $18,385,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 217,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,047,849.52. This trade represents a 36.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group raised their price target on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Pickering Energy Partners raised Hess to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Hess in a research note on Friday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.60.

Hess Price Performance

HES opened at $146.65 on Friday. Hess Co. has a 12-month low of $123.79 and a 12-month high of $163.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $140.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $138.93. The company has a market cap of $45.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.29 and a beta of 1.17.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. Research analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. Hess’s payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

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.