Federated Hermes Inc. Trims Position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Federated Hermes Inc. trimmed its holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 11.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 379,868 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 51,142 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. owned 0.12% of Hess worth $54,762,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Trust N.A. purchased a new position in Hess in the first quarter valued at $446,000. Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in shares of Hess by 17.1% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 4,276 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $458,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in shares of Hess by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 114,120 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $12,216,000 after purchasing an additional 4,027 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new position in Hess in the 1st quarter worth about $410,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Hess by 2.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,928,530 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $3,310,590,000 after purchasing an additional 667,979 shares in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hess

In related news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 13,921 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.08, for a total value of $2,103,184.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 33,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,073,417.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 13,921 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.08, for a total value of $2,103,184.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 33,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,073,417.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Gregory P. Hill sold 56,925 shares of Hess stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.35, for a total transaction of $8,330,973.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 78,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,457,302.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 155,798 shares of company stock worth $22,811,166 over the last quarter. 9.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HES has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Mizuho upped their target price on Hess from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a “sell” rating on the stock. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Hess from $152.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on Hess from $172.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $176.75.

Hess Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of HES opened at $154.35 on Friday. Hess Co. has a 52-week low of $124.27 and a 52-week high of $167.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $149.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $146.83. The company has a market capitalization of $47.56 billion, a PE ratio of 34.30 and a beta of 1.27.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.20. Hess had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 17.00%. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.76 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.78 earnings per share. Hess’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 8.09 EPS for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.4375 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 15th. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.13%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.89%.

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.