Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Hess Midstream Partners (NYSE:HESM)

Key Points

• Unusual Trading Activity: Hess Midstream Partners saw a significant increase in options trading, with 2,012 call options acquired, marking a 172% rise compared to the typical daily volume.
• Insider Selling: COO John A. Gatling sold 62,457 shares of the company at an average price of $41.59, totaling approximately $2.6 million.
• Dividend Increase: The company raised its quarterly dividend from $0.71 to $0.737 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 8.3% despite a payout ratio of 108.89%.

Hess Midstream Partners LP (NYSE:HESM - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders purchased 2,012 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 172% compared to the average volume of 739 call options.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO John A. Gatling sold 62,457 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.59, for a total transaction of $2,597,586.63. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hess Midstream Partners

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC lifted its holdings in Hess Midstream Partners by 0.9% during the second quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC now owns 26,507 shares of the company's stock worth $1,021,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Hess Midstream Partners by 14.3% during the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,400 shares of the company's stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Hess Midstream Partners by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC now owns 4,456 shares of the company's stock valued at $172,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its position in shares of Hess Midstream Partners by 34.9% during the 2nd quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,545 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Hess Midstream Partners by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 7,935 shares of the company's stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.97% of the company's stock.

Hess Midstream Partners Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE:HESM traded down $0.08 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $35.06. 843,805 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,362,969. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.26. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $40.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.39. Hess Midstream Partners has a one year low of $33.59 and a one year high of $44.14. The company has a market cap of $7.36 billion, a PE ratio of 12.98 and a beta of 0.68.

Hess Midstream Partners (NYSE:HESM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.18. Hess Midstream Partners had a net margin of 18.52% and a return on equity of 60.37%. The company had revenue of $414.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $405.08 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.59 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Hess Midstream Partners will post 2.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Midstream Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 7th were paid a $0.737 dividend. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.4%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 7th. This is a boost from Hess Midstream Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Hess Midstream Partners's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 109.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HESM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Hess Midstream Partners from $41.00 to $37.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Hess Midstream Partners from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Hess Midstream Partners in a research report on Friday, July 25th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Hess Midstream Partners from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $43.00 price objective (down from $45.00) on shares of Hess Midstream Partners in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hess Midstream Partners has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $43.00.

About Hess Midstream Partners

Hess Midstream LP owns, develops, operates, and acquires midstream assets and provide fee-based services to Hess and third-party customers in the United States. It operates through three segments: Gathering; Processing and Storage; and Terminaling and Export. The Gathering segment owns natural gas gathering and compression systems; crude oil gathering systems; and produced water gathering and disposal facilities.