Decagon Asset Management LLP Makes New Investment in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Decagon Asset Management LLP purchased a new position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 183,343 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $24,386,000. Hess makes up 8.9% of Decagon Asset Management LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. HBK Investments L P increased its stake in shares of Hess by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 7,117,820 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $966,600,000 after acquiring an additional 1,017,720 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Hess by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,537,162 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $884,709,000 after acquiring an additional 74,085 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Hess by 58.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,753,126 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $509,675,000 after acquiring an additional 1,391,311 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Hess by 31.0% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Hess by 46.3% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.60.

Hess Stock Performance

HES opened at $152.81 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. The company has a market cap of $47.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.98 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s 50 day moving average is $145.75 and its 200 day moving average is $140.43. Hess Co. has a 12-month low of $123.79 and a 12-month high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 research analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Hess’s payout ratio is 22.22%.

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.