15,000 Shares in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Acquired by Polar Asset Management Partners Inc.

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 15,000 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $1,995,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Hess by 0.9% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its holdings in Hess by 6.5% in 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 raised its holdings in Hess by 1.7% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Hess by 2.4% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $511,325,000 after acquiring an additional 91,131 shares in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hess Stock Down 1.0%

NYSE:HES traded down $1.30 on Friday, reaching $132.32. 3,570,806 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,791,178. The company has a market capitalization of $40.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.70 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Hess Co. has a 12 month low of $123.79 and a 12 month high of $161.69. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $135.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $140.78.

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last released 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 firm 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was down 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.16 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The business 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 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Hess's payout ratio is presently 27.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on HES. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $136.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen began coverage on shares of Hess in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Hess from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Hess from $151.00 to $147.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hess currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $162.16.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the firm'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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,384,679 shares of the company's stock, valued at $379,879,364.70. This trade represents a 6.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 9.10% of the company's stock.

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.