86,150 Shares in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Purchased by Colrain Capital LLC

Colrain Capital LLC bought a new stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 86,150 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $11,459,000. Hess makes up approximately 11.2% of Colrain Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of HES. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hess in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,117,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Hess in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,274,000. Czech National Bank grew its stake in shares of Hess by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 59,927 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $7,971,000 after acquiring an additional 3,625 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hess by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,838,079 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $244,483,000 after acquiring an additional 82,703 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Hess by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 43,085 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $5,731,000 after purchasing an additional 1,861 shares during the period. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup increased their price target on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Pickering Energy Partners raised shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hess in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.60.

Hess Trading Down 0.4 %

HES opened at $158.48 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $48.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.61 and a beta of 1.21. Hess Co. has a 52 week low of $123.79 and a 52 week high of $163.98. The business’s 50 day moving average is $147.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $142.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. On average, research analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. Hess’s payout ratio is 22.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,384,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $379,879,364.70. This trade represents a 6.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 9.76% 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.