Castleark Management LLC Invests $1.76 Million in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Castleark Management LLC bought a new stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 13,250 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,762,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in Hess in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hess in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hess in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Hess during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its stake in Hess by 225.6% in the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 293 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on HES shares. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $136.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Hess from $193.00 to $191.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Hess in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. UBS Group reduced their target price on Hess from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price target on Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $162.16.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total value of $27,877,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,384,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $379,879,364.70. The trade was a 6.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 9.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hess Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of Hess stock opened at $130.22 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $138.44 and its 200 day moving average is $141.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.28 billion, a PE ratio of 14.47 and a beta of 0.61. Hess Co. has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $161.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.14). Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. The company had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.16 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.66%.

Hess 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.