Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC Takes Position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 5,511 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $733,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in Hess in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Hess in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in Hess in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Hess in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its stake in Hess by 225.6% in the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 293 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HES has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wall Street Zen started coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Hess from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Hess from $193.00 to $191.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Hess from $151.00 to $147.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $162.16.

Hess Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE:HES traded up $0.60 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $131.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,212,301 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,787,008. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.64 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $136.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $140.92. Hess Co. has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $161.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.12.

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.95 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. Hess's revenue for the quarter was down 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.16 EPS. Research analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Hess's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total value of $27,877,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,384,679 shares of the company's stock, valued at $379,879,364.70. This trade represents a 6.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 9.10% 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.