Avantra Family Wealth Inc. Makes New $598,000 Investment in Hess Corporation (NYSE:HES)

Avantra Family Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hess Corporation (NYSE:HES - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,745 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $598,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of HES. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in Hess during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 106.2% in the 1st quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 200 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Hess by 225.6% in the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 293 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Hess

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 250,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total transaction of $34,002,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,734,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,933,690.79. The trade was a 12.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 650,000 shares of company stock valued at $91,845,500 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 9.10% of the company's stock.

Hess Stock Down 2.0%

NYSE HES traded down $2.82 during trading on Monday, reaching $141.64. 2,584,210 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,791,648. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $133.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $139.99. Hess Corporation has a 12-month low of $123.79 and a 12-month high of $161.69. The firm has a market cap of $43.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.59 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.95 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 17.65%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.16 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Hess Corporation will post 8.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Hess's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on HES shares. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Hess from $193.00 to $191.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Hess from $151.00 to $147.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. UBS Group raised their price target on Hess from $163.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price objective on Hess from $160.00 to $136.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $163.16.

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.