Millstone Evans Group LLC Invests $33,000 in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 245 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $33,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 2,154 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $287,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Hess by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,971 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $528,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Hess by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,682 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Hess by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,809 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in Hess by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 629 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hess Stock Performance

HES opened at $157.43 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $146.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $141.10. Hess Co. has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $163.98. The company has a market capitalization of $48.53 billion, a PE ratio of 17.49 and a beta of 1.21.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its earnings results 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%. Research analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. Hess’s payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on HES shares. UBS Group upped their price objective on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Pickering Energy Partners raised shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Hess currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.