Keybank National Association OH Sells 17,402 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Keybank National Association OH lessened its stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 850,695 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 17,402 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH owned about 0.28% of Hess worth $113,151,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. HBK Investments L P grew its position in shares of Hess by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 7,117,820 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $966,600,000 after buying an additional 1,017,720 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Hess by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,537,162 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $884,709,000 after purchasing an additional 74,085 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Hess by 58.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,753,126 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $509,675,000 after purchasing an additional 1,391,311 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Hess by 31.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,318,822 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $450,696,000 after purchasing an additional 785,270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Hess by 46.3% in the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 927,093 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on HES. Wells Fargo & Company raised Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group raised 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. Citigroup increased their price objective on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com began coverage on Hess in a research report on Sunday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Pickering Energy Partners upgraded Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.60.

Hess Stock Down 3.4 %

HES opened at $143.83 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $142.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $139.75. Hess Co. has a 52 week low of $123.79 and a 52 week high of $163.98. The company has a market capitalization of $44.32 billion, a PE ratio of 15.98 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. Analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.22%.

Hess Company 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.