USS Investment Management Ltd Purchases New Shares in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

USS Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 47,829 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $6,361,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of HES. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Hess in the 4th quarter worth about $3,117,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Hess during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,274,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Hess by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,838,079 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $244,483,000 after acquiring an additional 82,703 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in Hess by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 43,085 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $5,731,000 after acquiring an additional 1,861 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Hess by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 333,056 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $44,300,000 after acquiring an additional 42,797 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,384,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $379,879,364.70. This represents a 6.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 9.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HES has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. 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 report on Tuesday, May 13th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Hess from $193.00 to $191.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. 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 report on Friday, April 11th. Wall Street Zen began coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group reduced 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hess presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $162.16.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HES traded down $0.76 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $131.82. The company had a trading volume of 942,157 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,794,396. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.65 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $136.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $140.98. Hess Co. has a fifty-two week low of $123.79 and a fifty-two week high of $161.69.

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last announced 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 business had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.16 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Hess's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.