Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Shares Purchased by Howard Capital Management Inc.

Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,809 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Hess were worth $241,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HES. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hess by 21.5% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 15,126 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,054,000 after purchasing an additional 2,673 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Hess by 15.0% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 11,864 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,611,000 after acquiring an additional 1,548 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in Hess by 22.8% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 16,264 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,173,000 after acquiring an additional 3,025 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Hess during the third quarter worth $213,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Hess by 0.6% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 53,095 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $7,210,000 after acquiring an additional 337 shares during the period. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hess Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of HES opened at $147.02 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Hess Co. has a 12-month low of $123.79 and a 12-month high of $163.98. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $141.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $139.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.34 and a beta of 1.17.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HES has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Saturday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.