Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) CEO Sells $34,002,500.00 in Stock

Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) CEO John B. Hess sold 250,000 shares of the firm'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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,734,679 shares of the company's stock, valued at $235,933,690.79. This trade represents a 12.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Hess Trading Up 2.2%

Hess stock traded up $2.93 during trading on Friday, hitting $135.98. The company had a trading volume of 1,989,170 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,794,889. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $133.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $140.49. Hess Co. has a 1-year low of $123.79 and a 1-year high of $161.69. The stock has a market cap of $42.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.11 and a beta of 0.62.

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

Hess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. Hess's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank dropped their price objective 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 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. Wall Street Zen assumed coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Hess from $160.00 to $136.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective on Hess from $193.00 to $191.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hess has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $162.16.

Institutional Trading of Hess

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hess by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 2,154 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in Hess by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,971 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $528,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Hess by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,019 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $163,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems grew its stake in shares of Hess by 0.4% in the first quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 19,073 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $3,047,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Hess by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,809 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company's stock.

Hess Company 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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