GTS Securities LLC Sells 36,702 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

GTS Securities LLC cut its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 78.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,290 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 36,702 shares during the period. GTS Securities LLC's holdings in Hess were worth $1,369,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Alpine Global Management LLC bought a new stake in Hess during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,330,000. Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hess in the fourth quarter worth $207,000. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Hess in the fourth quarter worth $1,862,000. Castleark Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess in the fourth quarter worth $1,762,000. Finally, Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Hess during the fourth quarter valued at $733,000. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hess Stock Performance

Hess stock traded up $0.60 during trading on Thursday, reaching $131.67. The company 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 company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $136.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $140.92. Hess Co. has a 52 week low of $123.79 and a 52 week high of $161.69.

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last released 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). Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.16 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Hess

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total value of $27,877,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 9.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on HES shares. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Hess from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Hess from $151.00 to $147.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Hess from $193.00 to $191.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. 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 research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $162.16.

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.