Metis Global Partners LLC Grows Position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Metis Global Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,466 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 595 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $1,658,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Hess by 58.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,753,126 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $509,675,000 after purchasing an additional 1,391,311 shares during the period. HBK Investments L P grew its holdings in shares of Hess by 16.7% in the third quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 7,117,820 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $966,600,000 after purchasing an additional 1,017,720 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Hess by 46.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,930,509 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $389,787,000 after purchasing an additional 927,093 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Hess by 31.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,318,822 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $450,696,000 after purchasing an additional 785,270 shares during the period. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Hess in the third quarter valued at about $75,126,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Hess Stock Down 3.4 %

Shares of HES opened at $143.83 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.32 billion, a PE ratio of 15.98 and a beta of 1.17. Hess Co. has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $163.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.12. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $142.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $139.75.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. Analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.