Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Shares Purchased by Natixis Advisors LLC

Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 45.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 266,277 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 83,814 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $36,160,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its position in Hess by 295.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 84,277 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $11,445,000 after acquiring an additional 62,966 shares during the period. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in Hess in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Empirical Finance LLC increased its position in shares of Hess by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 9,433 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,281,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Hess by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 41,224 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $5,598,000 after purchasing an additional 3,141 shares during the period. Finally, ING Groep NV increased its position in shares of Hess by 267.8% during the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 533,264 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $72,417,000 after purchasing an additional 388,273 shares during the period. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on HES. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com began coverage on Hess in a research report on Monday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $163.30.

Insider Transactions at Hess

In related news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of Hess stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction of $851,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 27,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,914,019.71. This trade represents a 17.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of Hess stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.47, for a total value of $12,890,115.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 223,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,791,753.09. The trade was a 28.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hess Stock Performance

HES opened at $145.64 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $44.87 billion, a PE ratio of 16.97 and a beta of 1.15. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $136.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $142.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Hess Co. has a fifty-two week low of $123.79 and a fifty-two week high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.96 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 27.41% and a net margin of 20.58%. Hess’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.64 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 9.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This is a boost from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.31%.

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.