Arizona State Retirement System Has $13 Million Stake in Hess Corporation (NYSE:HES)

Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in Hess Corporation (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 3.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 81,381 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after buying an additional 2,420 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System's holdings in Hess were worth $12,999,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of HES. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hess by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,141,244 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $4,408,117,000 after purchasing an additional 296,406 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its stake in shares of Hess by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 11,438,985 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,521,499,000 after purchasing an additional 698,866 shares in the last quarter. HBK Investments L P increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 7,237,911 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $962,715,000 after acquiring an additional 120,091 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,695,533 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $888,240,000 after acquiring an additional 158,371 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Hess by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,844,257 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $511,325,000 after buying an additional 91,131 shares during the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HES has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Hess from $193.00 to $184.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Hess from $146.58 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Hess from $160.00 to $136.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised Hess from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on Hess from $193.00 to $191.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $163.70.

Hess Price Performance

Hess stock traded up $1.24 on Friday, reaching $153.28. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,784,093 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,845,058. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company has a market cap of $47.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.20 and a beta of 0.62. The business's fifty day moving average price is $137.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $140.81. Hess Corporation has a twelve month low of $123.79 and a twelve month 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). The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 17.65%. The company's revenue was down 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.16 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Hess Corporation will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. Hess's payout ratio is currently 27.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hess

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 250,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,734,679 shares in the company, valued at $235,933,690.79. The trade was a 12.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 9.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.