Toronto Dominion Bank Cuts Position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Toronto Dominion Bank lessened its stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 6.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 179,604 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 11,849 shares during the quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank owned 0.06% of Hess worth $23,889,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Sand Grove Capital Management LLP increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Sand Grove Capital Management LLP now owns 237,074 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $31,533,000 after purchasing an additional 5,241 shares in the last quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 449.6% in the 4th quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 9,497 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,263,000 after purchasing an additional 7,769 shares in the last quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hess in the 4th quarter valued at about $944,000. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Hess by 32.6% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 996,112 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $132,493,000 after acquiring an additional 245,028 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new position in Hess during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company's stock.

Hess Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HES opened at $134.86 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $41.71 billion, a PE ratio of 14.98 and a beta of 0.61. Hess Co. has a 12 month low of $123.79 and a 12 month high of $161.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $139.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $141.43.

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.81 EPS 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 analysts' expectations of $2.95 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.16 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Hess's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total value of $27,877,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,384,679 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $379,879,364.70. This trade represents a 6.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 9.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Hess from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $136.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Hess from $151.00 to $147.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hess presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $162.16.

About Hess

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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