Hsbc Holdings PLC Has $227.27 Million Stock Holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 76.4% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,532,132 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 663,338 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $227,273,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new position in shares of Hess during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Hess in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in Hess during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in Hess during the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 47.6% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 273 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on HES. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Hess from $193.00 to $192.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Hess from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $166.00 to $172.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. StockNews.com started coverage on Hess in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Eight equities 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $172.77.

Hess Stock Performance

NYSE:HES opened at $130.81 on Wednesday. Hess Co. has a twelve month low of $123.79 and a twelve month high of $167.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $139.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $147.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.30 billion, a PE ratio of 20.03 and a beta of 1.15.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $3.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.24 billion. Hess had a net margin of 21.22% and a return on equity of 27.43%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 40.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.65 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 11.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This is a boost from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Hess’s payout ratio is presently 30.63%.

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.