Carlson Capital L.P. Has $3.91 Million Stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Carlson Capital L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 194.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 29,400 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 19,400 shares during the period. Hess comprises about 2.3% of Carlson Capital L.P.’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Carlson Capital L.P.’s holdings in Hess were worth $3,910,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Hess in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of Hess by 59.8% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hess in the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. LRI Investments LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the period. Finally, Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in Hess in the 3rd quarter valued at about $55,000. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of Hess stock opened at $145.42 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $141.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $139.47. Hess Co. has a fifty-two week low of $123.79 and a fifty-two week high of $163.98. The firm has a market cap of $44.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.16 and a beta of 1.17. 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 issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HES has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Saturday, February 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Citigroup increased their price objective on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Pickering Energy Partners raised Hess to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Six 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.60.

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.