State of Alaska Department of Revenue Reduces Holdings in Hess Corporation (NYSE:HES)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue decreased its stake in Hess Corporation (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 57.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,387 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 44,125 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue's holdings in Hess were worth $5,173,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Hess by 16,134.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,546,506 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $2,470,230,000 after purchasing an additional 1,536,980 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Hess by 46.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,930,509 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $389,787,000 after buying an additional 927,093 shares during the period. Symmetry Investments LP grew its position in Hess by 154.1% during the fourth quarter. Symmetry Investments LP now owns 1,381,076 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $183,697,000 after buying an additional 837,662 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its holdings 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 valued at $1,521,499,000 after buying an additional 698,866 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Hess by 164.1% in the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 769,042 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $102,290,000 after acquiring an additional 477,796 shares during the period. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hess Price Performance

HES stock traded up $0.85 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $144.51. The stock had a trading volume of 2,690,033 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,799,608. Hess Corporation has a 52-week low of $123.79 and a 52-week high of $161.69. The company has a market cap of $44.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.99 and a beta of 0.62. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $133.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $140.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 17.65%. The business's revenue was down 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.16 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Hess Corporation will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Hess's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 225,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.18, for a total value of $29,965,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,984,679 shares of the company's stock, valued at $264,319,549.22. This trade represents a 10.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 650,000 shares of company stock worth $91,845,500. 9.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HES has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group raised their target price on Hess from $163.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Hess from $151.00 to $147.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Hess from $160.00 to $136.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Hess from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $163.16.

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.