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

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 5,511 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $733,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in Hess in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Hess in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Hess in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Hess in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. boosted its stake in Hess by 225.6% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hess Stock Performance

Shares of Hess stock traded up $1.22 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $132.58. 3,171,103 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,797,613. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.12. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $137.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $141.04. Hess Co. has a 52-week low of $123.79 and a 52-week high of $161.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.73 and a beta of 0.61.

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.16 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.51%. Hess's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on HES. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $136.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Hess from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen began coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Hess from $151.00 to $147.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $162.16.

Insider Transactions at Hess

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total transaction of $27,877,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,384,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $379,879,364.70. The trade was a 6.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 9.10% of the company's stock.

About Hess

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.