Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt Sells 200 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt reduced its holdings in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 10.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,748 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt’s holdings in Hess were worth $232,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HES. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Hess by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 32,435 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $4,314,000 after purchasing an additional 3,078 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in Hess during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,117,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in Hess by 91.0% during the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 76,512 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $10,176,000 after buying an additional 36,443 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Hess by 40.2% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 22,806 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,978,000 after acquiring an additional 6,542 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its stake in shares of Hess by 14.5% in the fourth quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 300,267 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $39,939,000 after acquiring an additional 37,951 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on Hess from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their target price on Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 92,894 shares of Hess stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.80, for a total transaction of $13,729,733.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 229,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,914,927. The trade was a 28.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Hess Price Performance

NYSE HES opened at $142.99 on Friday. 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 1-year low of $123.79 and a 1-year high of $163.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.89 and a beta of 1.17. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $140.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $139.07.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 7.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

Hess Company 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.