Tudor Investment Corp ET AL Raises Stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Tudor Investment Corp ET AL raised its stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 314.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 431,682 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after acquiring an additional 327,424 shares during the quarter. Hess makes up 0.2% of Tudor Investment Corp ET AL's holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL owned approximately 0.14% of Hess worth $57,418,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hess by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,141,244 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $4,408,117,000 after buying an additional 296,406 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its stake in Hess by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 11,438,985 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,521,499,000 after acquiring an additional 698,866 shares during the period. HBK Investments L P lifted its holdings in Hess by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 7,237,911 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $962,715,000 after purchasing an additional 120,091 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Hess by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,695,533 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $888,240,000 after purchasing an additional 158,371 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Hess by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,844,257 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $511,325,000 after purchasing an additional 91,131 shares in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of HES traded down $3.40 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $129.14. The stock had a trading volume of 2,480,204 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,884,919. The company has a market capitalization of $39.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.35 and a beta of 0.88. Hess Co. has a 12-month low of $123.79 and a 12-month high of $161.69. 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 moving average is $142.85 and its 200 day moving average is $141.90.

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last posted its 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). Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.16 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict 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 was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Hess's payout ratio is 22.22%.

Insider Activity at Hess

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of Hess stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total transaction of $27,877,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,384,679 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $379,879,364.70. The trade was a 6.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 9.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on HES. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hess in a research note on Sunday. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Scotiabank cut their price target on 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 decreased their price objective on Hess from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Susquehanna cut their target price on Hess from $160.00 to $136.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Pickering Energy Partners upgraded shares of Hess to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hess has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $164.46.

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.