Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co Has $2.58 Million Stock Holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co lowered its stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 20.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 19,371 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 5,107 shares during the period. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Hess were worth $2,577,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hess during the fourth quarter worth about $3,117,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in Hess during the fourth quarter worth $2,274,000. Czech National Bank grew its stake in Hess by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 59,927 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $7,971,000 after acquiring an additional 3,625 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Hess by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,838,079 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $244,483,000 after purchasing an additional 82,703 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Hess by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 43,085 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $5,731,000 after buying an additional 1,861 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Stock Performance

Hess stock opened at $158.48 on Friday. Hess Co. has a twelve month low of $123.79 and a twelve month high of $163.98. The company has a market capitalization of $48.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.61 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $147.78 and its 200 day moving average is $141.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 EPS 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Transactions at Hess

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total transaction of $27,877,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,384,679 shares in the company, valued at $379,879,364.70. The trade was a 6.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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.