Mufg Securities Americas Inc. Makes New Investment in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Mufg Securities Americas Inc. purchased a new position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 4,081 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $543,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV lifted its stake in shares of Hess by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 33,113 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $4,324,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hess in the 4th quarter worth approximately $404,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp boosted its holdings in Hess by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 731,050 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $97,237,000 after buying an additional 1,982 shares in the last quarter. Maven Securities LTD boosted its holdings in Hess by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Maven Securities LTD now owns 83,097 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $11,053,000 after buying an additional 5,499 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Hess by 99.5% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 100,445 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $13,360,000 after buying an additional 50,109 shares in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HES has been the subject of a number of research reports. 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. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Hess from $151.00 to $147.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $136.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hess has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $162.16.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of Hess 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,384,679 shares in the company, valued at $379,879,364.70. This trade represents a 6.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 9.10% of the company's stock.

Hess Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of Hess stock traded down $0.21 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $134.86. 1,688,439 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,804,484. The company has a market cap of $41.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.98 and a beta of 0.61. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $139.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $141.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.12. Hess Co. has a 52 week low of $123.79 and a 52 week high of $161.69.

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last released 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 business had revenue of $2.92 billion for 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%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.16 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

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

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.