Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Stake Reduced by Intech Investment Management LLC

Intech Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 21.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,916 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 3,549 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $1,718,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in Hess in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hess in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hess during the third quarter worth $37,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Hess by 157.2% in the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 355 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. UBS Group increased their target price on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Pickering Energy Partners raised Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.60.

Hess Stock Performance

Shares of HES stock opened at $156.59 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $48.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.40 and a beta of 1.21. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $123.79 and a fifty-two week high of $163.98. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $146.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $140.78.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. Analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Hess’s payout ratio is 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.