Van ECK Associates Corp Sells 348,848 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Van ECK Associates Corp lessened its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 83.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 70,012 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 348,848 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Hess were worth $10,093,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Hess by 3,680.0% during the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,890 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 1,840 shares during the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hess by 44.3% in the 4th quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 6,941 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,001,000 after acquiring an additional 2,130 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Hess by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 7,257 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,046,000 after acquiring an additional 517 shares during the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Hess during the 4th quarter valued at $1,947,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in Hess in the 4th quarter valued at $969,000. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Mizuho increased their target price on Hess from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Hess in a report on Friday. They set a “sell” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Hess from $172.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their target price on Hess from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Hess currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $177.42.

Hess Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of HES opened at $158.56 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Hess Co. has a 12-month low of $124.27 and a 12-month high of $167.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.85 billion, a PE ratio of 24.28 and a beta of 1.24. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $152.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $147.33.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas producer reported $3.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $1.43. Hess had a return on equity of 22.73% and a net margin of 17.41%. The firm had revenue of $3.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.98 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 36.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 9.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 18th were paid a $0.4375 dividend. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 15th. Hess’s payout ratio is 26.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hess

In other Hess news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 13,921 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.08, for a total value of $2,103,184.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 33,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,073,417.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 13,921 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.08, for a total transaction of $2,103,184.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 33,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,073,417.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 73,885 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.87, for a total value of $10,777,604.95. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 138,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,234,794.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 155,798 shares of company stock valued at $22,811,166. 9.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.