Governors Lane LP Increases Stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Governors Lane LP boosted its holdings in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 55.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 297,700 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 106,200 shares during the quarter. Hess comprises about 3.1% of Governors Lane LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Governors Lane LP owned about 0.10% of Hess worth $39,597,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its position in Hess by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 2,154 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $287,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hess by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,971 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $528,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,682 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Hess by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,809 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in Hess by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 629 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Hess Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE:HES opened at $132.06 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $40.85 billion, a PE ratio of 14.67 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a 50-day moving average of $140.25 and a 200 day moving average of $141.41. Hess Co. has a 1-year low of $123.79 and a 1-year high of $161.69.

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

Hess Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Hess’s payout ratio is 27.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on HES shares. Susquehanna cut their target price on Hess from $160.00 to $136.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hess in a research note on Monday, May 5th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Hess from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.46.

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.