California Public Employees Retirement System Lowers Stock Holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 451,065 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 23,688 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Hess were worth $59,996,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Townsquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in Hess during the third quarter worth about $298,000. Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its stake in shares of Hess by 37.9% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 2,474 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $336,000 after buying an additional 680 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Hess in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $75,126,000. Hilltop Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hess in the third quarter valued at approximately $294,000. Finally, HGC Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Hess by 148.9% during the third quarter. HGC Investment Management Inc. now owns 44,800 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $6,084,000 after acquiring an additional 26,800 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HES has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Pickering Energy Partners raised shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.60.

Insider Activity at Hess

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total value of $27,877,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,384,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $379,879,364.70. The trade was a 6.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Hess Stock Performance

Hess stock opened at $161.32 on Wednesday. Hess Co. has a fifty-two week low of $123.79 and a fifty-two week high of $163.98. The company has a market capitalization of $49.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.92 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $148.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $142.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.12.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. On average, analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.