1,226 Shares in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Bought by Kestra Investment Management LLC

Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,226 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $163,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HES. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hess during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its stake in Hess by 22.7% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 22,606 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 4,186 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Hess by 59.8% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Hess in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Hess during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HES has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Pickering Energy Partners raised shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. 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. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Friday, February 14th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.60.

Hess Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:HES opened at $151.19 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.58 billion, a PE ratio of 16.80 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $140.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $138.92. Hess Co. has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $163.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its quarterly 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

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 $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Hess’s payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

About Hess

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.