Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Hess Corporation (NYSE:HES)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hess Corporation (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 429.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,316 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 8,369 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Hess were worth $1,648,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HES. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in Hess in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew 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 buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in Hess in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Hess in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its holdings 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the company. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Hess from $160.00 to $136.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company 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. Mizuho decreased their target price on Hess from $193.00 to $191.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Hess from $193.00 to $184.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Hess from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hess has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $162.26.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 250,000 shares of the company'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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,734,679 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $235,933,690.79. This represents a 12.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 9.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of HES opened at $139.06 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $43.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.23 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $134.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $139.92. 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 Corporation has a 12 month low of $123.79 and a 12 month high of $161.69.

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.14). Hess had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 17.65%. The business had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.16 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Hess Corporation will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. Hess's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.66%.

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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