Sigma Planning Corp Makes New Investment in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Sigma Planning Corp bought a new position in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 2,048 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $295,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Hess by 2.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 37,239,078 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $5,697,579,000 after buying an additional 889,122 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Hess by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,790,382 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,191,928,000 after purchasing an additional 303,942 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Hess by 44.1% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,610,484 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $552,404,000 after purchasing an additional 1,105,204 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Hess by 19.9% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,951,451 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $451,572,000 after purchasing an additional 489,169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Hess by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,866,681 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $438,602,000 after purchasing an additional 42,802 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hess news, SVP Andrew P. Slentz sold 1,062 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.52, for a total transaction of $153,480.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 50,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,257,071.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, 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 transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Andrew P. Slentz sold 1,062 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.52, for a total value of $153,480.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 50,215 shares in the company, valued at $7,257,071.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 155,798 shares of company stock valued at $22,811,166. Company insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of HES opened at $162.53 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $151.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $147.22. The company has a market capitalization of $50.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.89 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.23. Hess Co. has a fifty-two week low of $124.27 and a fifty-two week high of $167.75.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas producer reported $3.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $1.43. The company had revenue of $3.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.98 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 22.73% and a net margin of 17.41%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 36.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.13 EPS. Research analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 8.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 18th were given a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 15th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HES has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Hess in a report on Thursday. They set a “sell” rating for the company. Mizuho increased their price objective on Hess from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Hess from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on Hess from $172.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $177.42.

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.