MONECO Advisors LLC Sells 1,474 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

MONECO Advisors LLC lessened its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 24.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,630 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 1,474 shares during the period. MONECO Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $616,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Creative Planning increased its position in shares of Hess by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 19,369 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,630,000 after buying an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Hess by 60.8% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,219 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $180,000 after acquiring an additional 461 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 100.2% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 98,429 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $13,367,000 after acquiring an additional 49,267 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Hess during the third quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hess by 21.5% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 15,126 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,054,000 after purchasing an additional 2,673 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:HES opened at $147.96 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.59 billion, a PE ratio of 16.44 and a beta of 1.17. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $141.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $139.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Hess Co. has a one year low of $123.79 and a one year high of $163.98.

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

Hess Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Hess’s payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.