Erste Asset Management GmbH Buys New Position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 360,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $47,056,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Hess by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 2,154 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $287,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Hess by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,971 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $528,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Hess by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,266 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $444,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Hess by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,682 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Hess by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,809 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $241,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Hess Price Performance

Shares of HES opened at $143.79 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $44.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.98 and a beta of 1.21. Hess Co. has a fifty-two week low of $123.79 and a fifty-two week high of $163.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The business’s 50-day moving average is $144.77 and its 200-day moving average is $140.10.

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

Hess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

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.