Hess Corporation (NYSE:HES) Shares Bought by KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its holdings in Hess Corporation (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 7.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 340,154 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after acquiring an additional 23,200 shares during the quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS owned approximately 0.11% of Hess worth $54,333,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in Hess by 8.4% during the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,019 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $163,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems lifted its position in shares of Hess by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 19,073 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $3,047,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC raised its position in shares of Hess by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 2,444 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $390,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Hess by 2.5% in the first quarter. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,111 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $657,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Hess by 106.2% in the 1st 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 during the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Hess from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Hess from $147.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Hess from $193.00 to $191.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Hess from $163.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $136.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hess has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $162.78.

Hess Stock Up 7.6%

Shares of HES stock traded up $11.34 during trading on Friday, reaching $160.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 104,703 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,867,605. Hess Corporation has a 1-year low of $123.79 and a 1-year high of $161.69. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $141.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $142.12. The company has a market capitalization of $49.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.17 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.95 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 17.65%. The firm's revenue was down 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.16 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Hess Corporation will post 8.08 EPS for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. Hess's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.66%.

Insider Transactions at Hess

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 250,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total value of $34,002,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,734,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,933,690.79. This trade represents a 12.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 9.10% of the stock is 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.