Rafferty Asset Management LLC Has $14.52 Million Holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 109,163 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 2,233 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Hess were worth $14,520,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of HES. Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new position in shares of Hess during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Recurrent Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Hess in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,752,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Hess by 164.1% in the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 769,042 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $102,290,000 after purchasing an additional 477,796 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP grew its stake in shares of Hess by 481.3% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP now owns 130,204 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $17,318,000 after buying an additional 107,804 shares during the period. Finally, Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hess during the 4th quarter valued at $1,995,000. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HES has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Hess from $151.00 to $147.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. 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 research report on Friday, April 11th. 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 research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Hess from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $162.16.

Hess Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:HES traded down $0.78 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $132.01. The stock had a trading volume of 1,603,250 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,803,810. 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 quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.12. The company has a market cap of $40.83 billion, a PE ratio of 14.67 and a beta of 0.61. The company's 50 day moving average is $139.03 and its 200-day moving average is $141.40.

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last issued 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 company had revenue of $2.92 billion during 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%. Hess's revenue for the quarter was down 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.16 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current 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 paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. Hess's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.66%.

Insider Transactions at Hess

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the business'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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,384,679 shares of the company's stock, valued at $379,879,364.70. The trade was a 6.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 9.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.