DRW Securities LLC Purchases Shares of 3,009 Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

DRW Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 3,009 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $400,000.

Other large investors have also 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 lifted its holdings 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 valued at $888,240,000 after purchasing an additional 158,371 shares during 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 valued at $511,325,000 after purchasing an additional 91,131 shares during the period. 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 grew 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 worth $389,787,000 after buying an additional 927,093 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Trading Down 7.8 %

NYSE HES opened at $127.15 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.13 and a beta of 0.88. Hess Co. has a 52-week low of $123.79 and a 52-week high of $163.98. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $146.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $142.57.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. Equities research analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 2,384,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $379,879,364.70. This represents a 6.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 9.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on HES shares. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded Hess to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Friday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Hess has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.60.

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.