Barclays PLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Barclays PLC lowered its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 821,131 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 50,849 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $109,222,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Hess by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,141,244 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $4,408,117,000 after acquiring an additional 296,406 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Hess by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,695,533 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $888,240,000 after purchasing an additional 158,371 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Hess by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,844,257 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $511,325,000 after purchasing an additional 91,131 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Hess by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,498,458 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $465,330,000 after buying an additional 179,636 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position 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 buying an additional 927,093 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HES has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Hess in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target 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. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.56.

Hess Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Hess stock opened at $127.26 on Wednesday. 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 current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market cap of $39.23 billion, a PE ratio of 14.14 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $146.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $142.48.

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

Hess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.57%. Hess’s payout ratio is 22.22%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total transaction of $27,877,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,384,679 shares in the company, valued at $379,879,364.70. This trade represents a 6.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

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.