Signaturefd LLC Sells 302 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Signaturefd LLC lowered its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,798 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 302 shares during the quarter. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $380,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in Hess in the 2nd quarter valued at $6,054,000. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in Hess by 59.9% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 26,823 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $4,087,000 after purchasing an additional 10,053 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in Hess by 424.8% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 19,466 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,971,000 after purchasing an additional 15,757 shares during the period. Calamos Advisors LLC grew its stake in Hess by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 590,326 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $87,085,000 after purchasing an additional 15,684 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Hess by 24.2% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 66,362 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $10,129,000 after purchasing an additional 12,915 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Hess from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $166.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Wolfe Research raised Hess from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Scotiabank upped their price target on Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $164.00.

Hess Stock Performance

Shares of HES opened at $138.02 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $135.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $144.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.20 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.27. Hess Co. has a 52-week low of $123.79 and a 52-week high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $3.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.24 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 27.43% and a net margin of 21.22%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 40.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 10.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 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 1.45%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This is an increase from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.63%.

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.