Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. Acquires 18,300 Shares of Hess Corporation (NYSE:HES)

Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. increased its position in Hess Corporation (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 59.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 49,100 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after buying an additional 18,300 shares during the period. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc.'s holdings in Hess were worth $7,843,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Hess in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its position in Hess by 106.2% in the first quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 200 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hess during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. boosted its position 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 valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 250,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total value of $34,002,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,734,679 shares of the company's stock, valued at $235,933,690.79. This trade represents a 12.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 650,000 shares of company stock valued at $91,845,500 over the last three months. 9.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on HES shares. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Hess from $151.00 to $147.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $136.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Hess from $193.00 to $191.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Hess from $163.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hess has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $163.16.

Hess Stock Performance

Shares of HES stock traded down $0.29 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $138.31. 1,329,574 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,788,587. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $134.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $139.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.13 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Hess Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $123.79 and a fifty-two 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 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. Hess had a net margin of 17.65% and a return on equity of 21.78%. 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 company earned $3.16 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Hess Corporation will post 8.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Hess's payout ratio is presently 27.66%.

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.