Kercheville Advisors LLC Trims Position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Kercheville Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 28.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,060 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 6,275 shares during the period. Hess accounts for 1.0% of Kercheville Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Kercheville Advisors LLC's holdings in Hess were worth $2,565,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Hess by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,141,244 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $4,408,117,000 after purchasing an additional 296,406 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its stake in Hess by 6.5% in the fourth 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 during the period. HBK Investments L P grew its stake in Hess by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 7,237,911 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $962,715,000 after purchasing an additional 120,091 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Hess by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,695,533 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $888,240,000 after purchasing an additional 158,371 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Hess by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,844,257 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $511,325,000 after purchasing an additional 91,131 shares during the period. 88.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hess Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:HES opened at $141.71 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $43.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.75 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Hess Co. has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $161.69. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $132.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $140.04.

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

Hess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Hess's payout ratio is currently 27.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on HES. Mizuho reduced their price target on Hess from $193.00 to $191.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on Hess from $160.00 to $136.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on Hess from $163.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Hess from $151.00 to $147.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $163.16.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,384,679 shares of the company's stock, valued at $379,879,364.70. This represents a 6.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 650,000 shares of company stock valued at $91,845,500 over the last ninety days. 9.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.

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