Raymond James Trust N.A. Buys Shares of 4,202 Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Raymond James Trust N.A. purchased a new position in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,202 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $571,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Hess by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,755,376 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $238,380,000 after purchasing an additional 43,061 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Hess by 35.4% during the third quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 3,611 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $490,000 after buying an additional 944 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Hess by 31.0% during 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 buying an additional 785,270 shares during the period. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC grew its holdings in Hess by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 56,682 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $7,697,000 after buying an additional 5,207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its position in Hess by 18.5% in the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 2,575 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $350,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Trading Down 2.2 %

Hess stock opened at $145.35 on Tuesday. Hess Co. has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $163.98. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $139.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $142.38. The firm has a market cap of $44.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.94 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.26. Hess had a return on equity of 27.41% and a net margin of 20.58%. The company had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.64 earnings per share. Hess’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 9.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. This is a boost from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HES has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wolfe Research upgraded Hess from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Hess from $171.00 to $151.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $163.30.

Insider Transactions at Hess

In other Hess news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction of $851,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 27,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,914,019.71. This trade represents a 17.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 92,894 shares of Hess stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.80, for a total value of $13,729,733.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 229,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,914,927. This trade represents a 28.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 314,370 shares of company stock valued at $45,856,309 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

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.